Pressure grows on special master as government shutdown drags on

07/05/2005

Patrick Condon,
Associated Press
July 6, 2005

Five days into a partial government shutdown, more groups affected by limited state services were putting pressure on the retired judge appointed to sort out where state funding should continue.

State employee union leaders asked Edward Stringer, the court-appointed special master in the shutdown case, to rule that every furloughed state worker be allowed to return to work. Representatives of the trucking industry demanded that highway rest stops be reopened, saying truckers can’t get the amount of rest that law requires.

At the same time, a group of House Republicans were preparing to intervene in the shutdown legal proceedings, to argue that the special master process is unconstitutional.

“To make decisions about how state money is spent is the exclusive province of the Legislature,’’ said Rep. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, an attorney. “The other two branches of government are not to be involved.’’

That didn’t stop requests from rolling in during hearings that Stringer, a retired Supreme Court justice, held throughout the day. The most sweeping request was from AFSCME Council 5, which represents many of the furloughed state workers.

Most of the shuttered state agencies have some services that have been deemed critical, and have maintained bare-bones staffing levels. Cal Ludeman, the state’s commissioner of employee relations, said that as of Tuesday, about 8,900 workers were furloughed.

Union officials argued that in most cases, not enough staff have been kept on to deliver even critical services in a timely way.

At the Department of Health — which in the last few days responded to reported outbreaks of West Nile virus, salmonella and Legionnaire’s Disease — there are 196 employees still working out of a staff of 1,379.

“It’s virtually impossible to protect your public health with 196 people,’’ said Bob Pinnow, a union representative who works in facilities management for the agency.

Eliot Seide, the executive director of Council 5, asked Stringer to rule that every furloughed state worker should be returned to work.

“We don’t agree with the designations of critical and non-critical,’’ Seide said. “We believe every single one is a critical employee to deliver services to the people of the state.’’

While he didn’t rule on the request, Stringer indicated some skepticism to that claim.

“There are all kinds of what ifs, but we have to deal with the reality that we’re in a budget crisis here and the service levels are going to be less,’’ Stringer said.

Another visible symbol of the shutdown, closed highway rest stops, were also questioned. John Hausladen, president of the Minnesota Trucking Association, said private truck stops don’t provide enough space on their own for all the truckers who need to stop in Minnesota.

Federal law requires that for every 14 hours of driving, truckers must rest for 10 hours, Hausladen said.

“These rest areas are essential for the trucking industry, for providing the safety of both the drivers and the public both,’’ Hausladen said.

Stringer did not immediately act on the matters heard Tuesday, but he’s likely to send recommendations soon to Ramsey County Judge Gregg Johnson, who’s overseeing the shutdown case.

Rep. Newman said Johnson could also expect a filing from him and four House colleagues questioning the constitutionality of the special master process. Newman said they expected an unfavorable ruling from Johnson, but that would clear the way for taking the question to the state Court of Appeals.

“This isn’t about us against them, Democrats and Republicans or the House and Senate,’’ Newman said. “This is purely a constitutional question, and I think it’s a legitimate concern.’’