Committee update - Minnesota State Legislature

Committee update
representatives. The bill is effective for
the state primary election in 2002.
Walter Klaus, former Legislator, said the
bill makes things easier for everyone
involved. Paiseau added that citizens
are confused because of crossing congressional
district and state legislative
district lines. Mike Lindsey, a private
citizen, active in the Republican party,
testified, “this issue is in both party platforms.
Now is a perfect time (to act).”
He said at the local level, the crossing
lines cause administrative difficulties
and confusion. “It’s an operational
nightmare,” he said. Moe said the bill is
problematic and expressed concern
about having an even number of Senators.
The bill failed on a divided vote.
Local election bill okayed
Three bills were presented before the
Election Laws Committee, chaired by
Sen. John Marty (DFL-Roseville), Wed.,
Feb. 16.
Sen. Edward Oliver (R-Deephaven),
authored S.F. 2291, which allows the
city of Shorewood to change from an atlarge
election of city council members
to election by ward. Woody Love,
mayor of Shorewood, outlined 3 reasons
why the change is being requested. He
said a ward system will assure that the
various geographical areas of the city
are represented on the city council.
Secondly, a ward system will help keep a
sense of “place.” Thirdly, because of the
city’s geographic layout, campaigning
door-to-door can be a daunting challenge
for city council candidates. He
added that 2 former mayors also support
the bill. The bill was adopted and
recommended for the Consent Calendar.
Marty offered an amendment that
would allow cities to decide the issue of
election by ward on their own with
approval by a majority of voters in the
city. “It’s a local control issue,” he said.
Marty didn’t call for a vote to amend
S.F 2291 but urged members to think
about the idea.
S.F. 3102, authored by Marty, requires
campaign finance and lobbyist reports
and economic interest statements to be
filed with the Campaign Finance and
Public Disclosure Board electronically
and posted on its web site. The board
may not include the home address or
telephone number of an individual.
Jeanne Olson, executive director, said
the board has software available for
8
candidates. “We’re anxious to have it
used,” said Olson. Sen. Mark Ourada
(R-Buffalo) raised concerns about what
type of information would be disclosed.
Olson said the information is already
public information. Marty added that
the bill simply puts the existing information
on a searchable data base. The
bill was approved and sent to the floor.
Sen. Ember Junge (DFL-New Hope),
presented S.F. 500, a bill dealing with
campaign spending limits. The bill does
several things including raising the
spending limit for constitutional officers
other than the governor and lieutenant
governor. The bill also allows a losing
candidate to contribute to the
candidate’s own campaign twice as
much as now permitted and allows an
unlimited amount to pay debts when the
committee is terminated. Junge said the
bill was introduced last year, but the
language is now part of another bill tied
up in conference committee. She said
she’s optimistic the bill will pass but is
carrying S.F. 500 as a separate bill just
in case. The bill was adopted and sent
to the floor.
Environment and Natural
Resources
Monarch butterfly bill advanced
Members of the Environment and
Natural Resources Committee, meeting
Mon., Feb. 14, approved a bill naming
the monarch butterfly as Minnesota’s
state butterfly. The committee is
chaired by Sen. Bob Lessard (DFL-Int’l.
Falls).
S.F. 2326, authored by Charles Wiger
(DFL-North St. Paul), was inspired by a
group of fourth graders at O.H. Anderson
grade school in Mahtomedi. The
students studied Monarch butterflies
last fall.
One of the students, Gina Bruns,
offered one of her reasons for wishing to
have the Monarch become the state
butterfly. “If we can have a state muffin
[blueberry], we should have a state
butterfly, too,” she said. “If this bill
passes, Minnesota would be the 21st
state to have a state butterfly,” added
Rebecca LaFoy, another student.
“The monarch is a great teacher about
the world around us,” said Cheryl
Miller, of the Minnesota Audubon
Society. An example is the butterflies’
seasonal migration from Minnesota to
Mexico and vice-versa, a journey of
2,000 miles or more, she said.
The bill was approved and re-referred
to the Government Operations and
Veterans Committee.
The committee also approved a bill
authorizing markings of canoe and
boating routes along a portion of the
Chippewa River. S.F. 2573, authored by
Sen. Charles Berg (IND-Chokio),
authorizes a 42.8-mile portion of the
Chippewa, from Benson to Montevideo,
to be marked for historic points of
interest, portages, camp sites, dams,
rapids, etc. The bill was approved and
recommended for the consent calendar.
The committee also discussed a bill
that allows the recovery of sunken logs
on inland waters. S.F. 2546, authored by
Sen. Dan Stevens (R-Mora), proposes a
$500 and $2,500 permit for residents
and non-residents, respectively, to
recover sunken logs on inland waters.
The bill specifies a three-year lease
period and methods to be allowed in the
recovery efforts. The measure also
requires that articles of historical
significance discovered in recovery be
reported to the Minnesota Historical
Society. The committee laid the bill
over for further consideration.
Sunken log bill heard
The Environment and Natural
Resources Committee, chaired by Sen.
Bob Lessard (DFL-Int’l. Falls), met
Weds., Feb. 16, and heard a number of
bills, including a “sunken log” bill that
permits harvesting logs submerged in
inland waters.
S.F. 2546, authored by Sen. Dan
Stevens (R-Mora), permits raising and
removing logs that are submerged to a
depth of 20 ft. or more by winching.
Such removal would require a permit
from the Department of Natural Resources
(DNR) - $500 for residents and
$2,500 for non-residents, according to
the bill. Under the bill, historical
artifacts found during removal must be
reported to the Minnesota Historical
Society within one business day. The
bill also provides that DNR commissioner
must report to the Legislature no
later than June 30, 2000, on the status
of sunken logs. The bill was approved
and referred to the Environment and
Agriculture Budget Division.
S.F. 2700, authored by Sen. Dick Day