April 19, 1999 - House Republicans today outlined their comprehensive tax relief plan, adding to the income tax cuts passed by the House last week. The complete $4-Billion-dollar package eliminates the so-called "sick tax" on medical care, cuts agricultural property taxes by about 10 percent and makes the income tax system more favorable to married couples. Republicans say they're delivering on their promise to cut taxes across the board, but DFLers in the Senate say the plan goes too far.
April 16, 1999 - This afternoon House and Senate negotiators signed off on an agreement to cut a farm-aid proposal free from the ongoing wrangling over tax rebates and send it to the Governor as soon as possible. The $70-million-dollar package is meant to help farmers through the agriculture crisis by giving them a $4-dollar-an-acre rebate on the property taxes. Many farmers say the aid is a nice gesture, but it's probably not going to save many farms.
April 14, 1999 - The long-stalled debate over tax relief took a surprising turn last night when House DFLers joined forces with the Republican majority to approve across-the-board income rate tax cuts. The DFL proposal also includes the Senate's version of one-time sales tax rebates and more than $70 Million dollars in property tax aid for farmers. The House DFLers' sudden cooperativeness took Republican leaders by surprise -- and put Senate DFLers on the defensive.
April 14, 1999 - Governor Ventura and Senate DFLers spent the day down-playing the significance of the surprise tax cut passed last night in the Minnesota House. House DFLers and Republicans joined forces to approve tax cuts and rebates worth more that $1-point-4 Billion dollars a year but Ventura and Senate leaders say the House went too far.
April 13, 1999 - Governor Ventura has warned legislators that he has no intention of calling a special legislative session if they don't finish major tax and spending bills by the May 17 adjournment date. Ventura is especially concerned with the fate of his tax rebate legislation, which has been stuck in a conference committee for two months.
April 12, 1999 - This week marks Governor Jesse Ventura's 100th day in office. The former wrestler is arguably the country's most well-known governor, and so far he's riding high in the opinion polls.
April 8, 1999 - The prospects for light rail transit in the Twin Cities got a little dimmer after a key House committee vote today. The Republican-controlled House Transportation Finance Committee approved this year's comprehensive transportation funding bill WITHOUT including money for LRT. The House bill ignores Governor Ventura's request for $60 Million dollars to begin construction of an LRT line between Minneapolis and Bloomington, but the project is still very much alive in the Senate.
April 7, 1999 - The Republican leadership of the Minnesota House suffered a setback yesterday when it failed to get enough votes to pass its first big spending bill. The legislation was supposed to make up for budget shortfalls in state spending on things like unanticipated legal bills, and Republican leaders assumed it would pass without difficulty. Instead, a group of dissident Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat the legislation, and some lawmakers say the vote undermines Speaker Steve Sviggum's control of the House.
March 31, 1999 - Security was a little tighter at the state capitol today in the wake of yesterday's pie-attack on State Senator Carol Flynn. Flynn was knocked down outside the Senate chamber when a man protesting the Highway 55 re-route project allegedly threw a cream pie in her face. The incident followed a similar pie-assault on Governor Ventura last week, and some lobbyists and members of the public are worried that new security restrictions could hamper their easy access to elected officials.
March 30, 1999 - The Minnesota Senate has acted unilaterally to pass a compromise version of the tax rebate plan -- even though the HOUSE has not agreed to the compromise.