Committee update - Minnesota State Legislature

tions and Affairs Policy Committee met
jointly Mon., Feb. 7, to hear two bills
proposing the establishment of a
unicameral legislature. The committees
are chaired by Sen. John Marty (DFL-
Roseville) and Rep. Jim Rhodes (R-St.
Louis Park).
The bill calls for a new body called
the senate composed of 135 members.
Members serve four-year staggered
terms and are called senators. It
convenes in 2003 for the first time.
Sen. Allan Spear (DFL-Mpls.), author
of S.F. 43, said his bill is not an attack
on the Legislature and that sessions run
well until the last 3 weeks. “The
greatest merit is that this bill will get rid
of the conference committees. I’m
convinced they’re unreformable,” he
said.
Rep. Steve Swiggum (R-Kenyon),
author of H.F. 159, said the advantages
of a unicameral legislature would be it’s
openness and accountability. “I feel
strongly about making this process more
open and accountable to citizens. In a
bicameral system we blame the other
body for bad policies,” he said.
Swiggum, speaking as a farmer, said the
bill doesn’t hurt rural residents. “I can’t
come up with a reason why it’s antirural,”
he said. He concluded his
opening remarks with the observation
that “the loudest voice in this debate is
the line-up of special interest voices
speaking against it. That speaks
volumes to me.”
Gov. Jesse Ventura spoke about his
intent to get the issue on the ballot in
November and let the voters decide.
“The citizens want a chance to decide
this issue. I think frankly that’s the right
thing to do. I believe strongly that it
deserves to be on the ballot. I have
faith in Minnesotans, that they will
make the right decision,” he said.
Sen. Dave Kleis (R-St. Cloud)
emphasized the support for the bill.
“We have members that support if from
all parties. There’s a coalition of
support for the bill,” he said.
Sen. Dallas Sams (DFL-Staples)
questioned whether unicameral would
be better than the current system.
There would be fewer chairmanships,
the chairs would be more powerful and
the senate may be controlled by one
party he said. Sen. Mark Ourada (R-
Bufalo) said that there are problems in
the current process but that they can be
dealt with. “It (unicameral) seems like
a silver bullet,” he said. Spear again
pointed out flaws with the current
system. “Some legislation that should
pass doesn’t. Some that shouldn’t pass
does. Legislation with support in both
houses gets lost in conference committees.
Conference committees allow for
mischief. We’re not saying it’s a silver
bullet. I think unicameral is a better
framework,” said Spear.
Several members of Opponents of a
Unicameral House (Ouch) spoke
against the bill. Former Secretary of
State Joan Anderson Growe said the
Legislators should decide the issue and
she urged them not to act drastically.
“If parts of the system don’t work
perfectly, we don’t throw the baby out
with the bathwater,” she said. Other
members of Ouch included Bill Blazer,
vice president of the MN Chamber of
Commerce, Bernie Brommer, president
of the MN AFL-CIO, Mike Erlandson,
chairman of the MN DFL party, Ron
Eibensteiner, chairman of the Republican
Party of MN, Andy Steensma,
representative of the MN Farmers
Union, Al Christopherson, president of
the MN Farm Bureau and Judy Duffy,
president of the MN League of Woman
Voters.
Minnesotan’s for a Single House
Legislature included Gene Merriam,
former Senator, Joanne Benson, former
lieutenant governor, and Tim Penny,
former U.S. congressman. Penny said
unicameral fits with Minnesota’s
tradition of open and clean government.
He said a unicameral system is easier to
understand and provides for more
accountability.
Katie Poirier bill okayed
On Wed, Feb. 9, the Crime Prevention
Committee, chaired by Allan Spear
(DFL-Mpls.), met to discuss five bills
and hear testimony from the Department
of Corrections/Department of
Human Services Sex Offender Collaboration
Work Group. The committee
also heard a report from both the Anoka
County Corrections Department and
the Ramsey Corrections Department,
dealing with local correctional fees.
Known as the Katie Poirier bill, S.F.
2396, authored by Sen Ember Junge
(DFL-New Hope), was considered again.
The committee approved, by voicevote,
Junge’s amendment setting a
minimum two-year prison term for
predatory offenders who fail to comply
with registration laws. Sen. Randy Kelly
(DFL-St. Paul) said that members
wanted to send a strong message to
criminal sex offenders–that violations in
registration compliance by convicted
sex offenders will not be tolerated. The
bill also requires a lifetime registration
for certain predatory offenders, and
requires that predatory offenders also
register addresses of secondary residences,
all vehicles, and recreational
property. The bill was recommended to
pass and sent to the Crime Prevention
and Judiciary Budget Division.
Authored by Sen. Dave Johnson
(DFL-Bloomington), S.F. 2386, deals
with the distribution of fines that are
paid in Hennepin County, when no
court appearance occurs to settle a
citation. Under the bill, 80 percent of
the fine is paid to the treasurer of the
municipality or county subdivision
where the violation was committed, and
the remaining 20 percent is distributed
to the Hennepin County treasurer. Any
excess money from fines, received by
Hennepin County are to be used to fund
revenue collection initiatives that
enhance criminal justice services. S.F.
2386 was recommended to pass and
sent to the Senate floor.
A bill, S.F. 2408, authored by Sen.
Linda Berglin (DFL-Mpls.), makes
changes in current crime victims
reparations law. The bill makes it
necessary for loss of income compensation
cases to be reviewed at 26 weeks.
It also requires that a physician evaluate
the victim to establish whether the
victim is disabled, before compensation
is continued. The bill was recommended
to pass and sent to the full
Senate.
Sen. Charles Wiger (DFL-North St.
Paul) authored S.F. 2485, a bill that
delays by one year the effective date of
the listing of the drug, Carisoprodol.
Carisoprodol was originally going to be
listed as a schedule IV controlled
substance, effective August 1, 1998.
However, the Legislature has twice
extended the date by one year. The bill
was recommended to pass and sent to
the Consent Calendar.
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