Lawmakers sail through easy first half

04/17/2006

But the tough issues are likely to complicate rest of session

BY BILL SALISBURY
Pioneer Press

The Minnesota Legislature began the year with a modest to-do list, and halfway through the session it is off to a good start at getting its work done.

“So far, so good,” Gov. Tim Pawlenty said last week. “The tone has been constructive for the most part, and we’ve made good progress on most issues.”

But the first half of the session was the easy part. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor majority in the Senate could pass pet bills that it knew would never fly in the Republican-controlled House, and vice versa.

The Legislature’s real test will come after lawmakers return Tuesday from their Easter-Passover recess. Then the Senate and House will try to iron out their differences on such divisive issues as stadiums and illegal immigration.

They’ve done a lousy job of finding common ground in recent years. In 2004, they gave up and went home without completing their work, and last year’s partisan gridlock resulted in a special session and partial government shutdown.

Legislative leaders insist this year will be different. Most predict lawmakers will finish their work early and adjourn before the May 22 constitutional deadline.

Everybody at the Capitol wants to get done and go home soon, said Senate Minority Leader Dick Day, R-Owatonna. Why? “We’re all running for re-election this year,” he said. “That’s the overriding thing.”

There are a few more reasons the Legislature should finish its work on time, if not early. Though it faces some contentious issues, such as the proposed ban on same-sex marriages, it does not have to act on them. The only legislation on its must-pass list is a bonding bill to finance state construction projects, and the gap between the House and Senate versions is narrow and should be easily resolved.

“I’m very concerned that we’ll just pass a bonding bill and the rest of the session will go out the window,” said House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, DFL-St. Paul. He fears opportunities for property-tax reform and education initiatives will be frittered away.

But House Speaker Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon, said the session is off to a “positive, hopeful start” that has set the stage for a productive conclusion.

And Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, DFL-Willmar, said senators are keeping their promise to “deal with significant issues in a timely fashion.”

Exhibit No. 1 of consensus developing over a potentially divisive issue is a bill to rein in the use of eminent domain. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that cities can seize private homes and businesses for economic redevelopment, legislators quickly put together bipartisan bills to protect property owners’ rights. They are expected to pass a final version as soon as the House and Senate work out minor differences in their respective bills.

Also contributing to a more cooperative mood this year is a group of about 60 rank-and-file lawmakers pushing a series of mostly procedural reforms to streamline budget-making, share power and prevent another shutdown. The leaders of the group, Sen. Sheila Kiscaden, DFL-Rochester, and Rep. Kathy Tingelstad, R-Andover, said about a dozen of its proposals are moving through the legislative process.

“The voices of the people have been heard. They told us, ‘Get the job done.’ We’re responding,” Tingelstad said.

Here’s a status report on some of the pending issues:

BUDGET AND TAXES

The current status of Minnesota’s budget is easy to describe: The state has $88 million available for new spending plus $317 million in a “tax relief account” that has no designated purpose. On the negative side of the balance sheet, the state Supreme Court is considering a challenge to a cigarette fee that could cost the state $370 million.

The governor, House Republicans and Senate Democrats have each come up with proposals on how to handle those issues. Finding common ground in this area will be one of the biggest challenges in the last month of the session.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

The hot-button issue of the session is the proposed amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman, thereby banning same-sex marriage. The House passed it last year, but a Senate committee rejected it earlier this month.

That doesn’t mean it’s dead. The amendment’s backers have pledged to find other means to force the full Senate to vote on it. But that’s a long shot.

Another proposed amendment would give voters a chance to dedicate a portion of the state sales tax to conservation and perhaps other programs. The House and Senate take different approaches, but this is the closest they have come in years to passing the amendment. Sviggum said the “pressure of public opinion” could force them to resolve their differences.

ENVIRONMENT

Lawmakers are poised to make a down payment on a Clean Water Legacy bill. Proposals are moving forward in both houses to provide at least $20 million for a one-year effort to clean up polluted lakes, rivers and streams. The House also earmarked $12 million in its bonding bill to pay for developing cleanup plans, upgrading wastewater-treatment facilities and reducing urban and agricultural runoff.

Lawmakers will let the 2007 Legislature figure out how to come up with the projected $80 million a year needed to bring Minnesota lakes and rivers up to federal clean-water standards.

IMMIGRATION

The House has passed two immigration-related measures. One would require visa expiration dates on temporary visitors’ driver’s licenses. The other would negate Minneapolis and St. Paul ordinances that bar city police from routinely asking about residents’ immigration status. But the Senate is unlikely to pass either measure.

Both the House and Senate are working on legislation to get tougher on human traffickers. The House also would crack down on illegal immigrants, particularly those who use fake identification. The Senate, in contrast, has moved to make life easier for some illegal immigrants already here by granting Minnesota high school graduates resident tuition at state colleges and universities, a measure Pawlenty has threatened to veto.

Sviggum predicted the two houses will pass a few immigration measures that they have in common.

STADIUMS

The Legislature is moving toward authorizing the University of Minnesota to build an on-campus football stadium, and the debate over new homes for the Twins and Vikings is about to heat up.

A bill authorizing the Twins and Hennepin County to finance a new ballpark in Minneapolis cleared one Senate committee earlier this month, but it faces a much tougher test in House Tax Committee hearings Wednesday and Thursday. If the bill reaches the House floor, Sviggum predicted, it will pass by a wide margin “if we get a clean up-or-down vote.” Johnson has said he believes the Senate also will pass a ballpark bill.

The Vikings have been third in line for a stadium at the Capitol. Their proposal for a domed stadium in Blaine faces tough debates over sales tax and referendum issues before it proceeds.