Legislature meets, argues, then adjourns

07/03/2005

Conrad Defiebre,
Star Tribune
July 3, 2005

A Saturday matinee performance of the Minnesota Legislature’s theater of the absurd brought no sign of a quick end to the state budget impasse or the first budget-related partial government shutdown in its history.

The Senate, divided as ever along partisan lines, passed a stopgap bill 36 to 22 to restart closed government functions and put 9,000 state workers facing layoffs back on the payroll until July 11. But a DFL attempt to do the same in the House failed for the fifth straight day, also mostly on party lines, and the two chambers adjourned until Tuesday.

Legislative leaders vowed to meet with Gov. Tim Pawlenty through much of the holiday weekend in search of a final settlement on K-12 education, health and human services, transportation and taxes. Also, a bipartisan “compromise working group” of other legislators planned to meet on Monday.

There was little indication, however, that any of those talks would accomplish much.

“I’d like to think we are closer, but we still don’t have a done deal,” said Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, DFL-Willmar.

Prayers and partisanship

The House and Senate floor sessions, the first on a July 2 since the budget crisis of 1981, were devoted largely to more of the recriminations that have echoed through the state Capitol since the shutdown began at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

Minutes after Senate chaplain Kisten Thompson prayed for legislators to “let go of blame,” 12 Republican senators tried to lodge a formal protest of the Senate’s mid-evening adjournment Thursday, hours before the shutdown began.

The protest, led by Sen. Sean Nienow, R-Cambridge, said that Johnson’s decision to end Thursday’s session “tarnished the reputation of the Minnesota Senate and has diminished public faith in our state government.”

The state Constitution allows any group of two or more legislators to file a dissent in an official legislative journal from “any act or resolution which they think injurious to the public.” But Senate President James Metzen, DFL-South St. Paul, ruled that adjournment was not an act in the constitutional meaning and was upheld on a straight party-line vote of 32 to 24.

Later, Republicans demanded an unusual roll call vote on Saturday’s adjournment, which passed 32 to 22.

More than two dozen of the usual cast of 201 legislators didn’t even show up for Saturday’s theatrics. Some who were in attendance expressed a wish that they weren’t, but that didn’t stop the House from debating the DFL “lights-on” bill for an hour.

“My family is up at camp in northern Minnesota,” said Rep. Leon Lillie, DFL-North St. Paul. “I’d like to be there with them.”

Added Rep. Jim Knoblach, R-St. Cloud: “I wish we weren’t here one more day that our employees are out of work. But we need a shutdown to force an agreement.”

DFLers complained that the shutdown has made state workers pawns in the Capitol chess game. Rep. Frank Moe, DFL-Bemidji, told of one employee who was denied a home mortgage because of the shutdown.

When someone likened the stopgap bill to a safety net, Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Grove City, begged to differ. “Rather, it’s a hammock leading to a summer of slumber for our negotiations,” he said. Without a shutdown, added Rep. Tim Wilkin, R-Eagan, “it’s welcome to December.”

In the end, 61 DFLers and Republican Reps. Jerry Dempsey of Red Wing, Mark Olson of Big Lake and Steve Smith of Mound voted to bring the bill to the floor, versus 52 Republican nays. But 90 yeas were needed under House rules.

Rep. Tony Sertich, DFL-Chisholm, said he plans to continue his efforts for a stopgap end to the shutdown next week. “Minnesota should not be held hostage,” he said.

On Saturday, the House was the first to adjourn for the day, and Johnson didn’t miss the opportunity to point that out.

“It’s somewhat unfortunate that the House has been critical of the Senate for not doing our work,” he said. “Now they’ve gone home.”