April 7, 1998 - Governor Arne Carlson says he will veto a proposed tax-relief bill unless House and Senate DFLers increase the payout for taxpayers. DFLers accuse the Governor of holding tax relief hostage for the sake of a new NHL hockey arena. We have the latest on this Minnesota political battle over taxes and sports arenas from Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste: Governor Carlson made his position very clear today: He wants more money for property tax rebates. And he wants more money for permanent cuts in state income taxes. The governor says $500 million dollars in property tax rebates and another $400 million in property tax rate cuts is not enough. That proposed deal was reached late last night between House and Senate negotiators. But as the governor told a news conference today, that deal is now under a veto threat. He says the sooner legislators understand that, the better:
April 6, 1998 - Legislative leaders are pledging to adjourn and go home this week -- even though two of this year's stickiest issues remain unresolved. House and Senate negotiators met over the weekend to talk about the Saint Paul hockey arena, and Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste joins us from our capitol bureau to bring us up to speed.
April 6, 1998 - Lawmakers have given themselves four more days to finish all their business...and it's a deadline that's looking more and more daunting as time goes by. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste joins us from the Capitol Bureau.
April 3, 1998 - Chris talks with Martin Kaste to get an update on today's movement on various issues at the legislature.
April 3, 1998 - (THIS ONE... a little long for news, maybe drop-in for ATC as "leg update") House negotiators may block $87 million in state money for the Minneapolis Convention Center unless the Senate relaxes its opposition to the Saint Paul hockey arena. Minnesota Public Radio's Maritn Kaste reports: The deadlock over the Saint Paul hockey arena is beginning to put other projects at risk. The Senate opposes the arena, so House negotiators are now saying they'll block the Minneapolis project, too. The threat is probably a bargaining tactic, but it worried Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton enough for her to rush over to the capitol earlier this afternoon to do damage control. House Speaker Phil Carruthers says he does not necessarily endorse his negotiators' tactics, but he thinks the Senate should be more fair to Saint Paul:
April 2, 1998 - Governor Carlson is proposing the state contribute almost $28 million dollars to help rebuild southern Minnesota after last Sunday's storms... and he's calling on the Legislature to waste no time approving the money. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports: Governor Carlson is rarely in a big hurry to spend state money -- but this case is different. He's urging the Legislature to approve his $27.6 million-dollar package in one day -- probably this coming Monday: "It's to our best interest as a state for people as early as a week from this coming week to start watching homes being rebuilt. To watch businesses being rebuilt. That gives you that sense of confidence and the uplift that you have. I want farmers to go start planting in their fields. I don't want them to sit their looking at their fields and the debris on their fi
March 31, 1998 - The Minnesota House narrowly voted for a constitutional amendment setting up a permanent trust fund to benefit the state's youngest children. The Senate has passed a similar bill, and if the two houses can negotiate a compromise version, voters will see the proposal on the ballot in November. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports: The Legislators behind the Children's endowment live by that familiar bumper sticker slogan, "Kids can't vote, but you can." They argue the Legislature can't be trusted to look out for babies and pre-school-aged kids, because they don't have the kind of clout that business, teachers' unions and other special interest groups do. The measure's chief author in the House, Maplewood DFLer Nora Slawik, says the endowment is especially needed now, as the state's population ages and fe
March 31, 1998 - State legislators lost no time responding to Sunday night's storm damage. A Senate committee has already passed one piece of disaster-relief legislation, and more relief is in the works. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports: Only sixteen hours after the last twister pulled back into the sky, a Senate committee voted for what amounts to a blank check for the devastated communities. The Senate Government Finance Committee approved what legislators call a "placeholder" -- legislation to dole out an unspecified amount of money to local governments in the stricken counties. For now, senators are guessing the state will have to spend $
March 26, 1998 - The Minnesota House has approved legislation to put a new constitutional right to hunt and fish on the ballot in November. The legislation passed with overwhelming support, but there seems to be some confusion over what it means. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports: The House spent at least an hour today wrangling over whether "taking game and fish" should be enshrined in the state constitution as a "right" or a "privilege." After a couple of close votes, House members settled on "privilege." The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association had been lobbying for "right," which they think might carry more clout in court. They want to counter what they perceive as growing hostility to their hobby from animal rights groups and some environmentalists. Anoka Republican -- and Attorney General candidate -- Charlie Weaver told House members that hunters have a right to feel worried:
March 26, 1998 - St Paul Mayor Norm Coleman says the deal to build a new hockey arena for the Minnesota "Wild" is good for the state AND good for taxpayers -- no matter what his critics say. Yesterday evening (WED) Coleman was grilled by state legislators, many of whom think the arena deal is politically and financially flawed. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports: The House-and-Senate Bonding Conference Committee invited the mayor to "answer questions" about the city's arena deal, but it turned out THEY intended to do a lot of the talking. Jerry Janezich, a DFL State Senator from Chisholm, laid the situation out for Coleman: ((I almost impossible, I think, to try to do something like this. And it's not about politics, Mayor. It's not even close to that. I mena, everything here, all the revenue goes to the team! All of it!))