By Wisconsin Reporter
MADISON — While protesters greeted Gov. Scott Walker this week as he spoke in Springfield, Ill., a new poll bolstered Walker's campaign as he heads toward a June 5 recall election.
Partisans, meanwhile, are bickering over what a new school staffing report indicates, and voter ID lawsuits won’t be skipping any steps, the state Supreme Court said.
A Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis of Lobbying Disclosure Act filings finds that Minnesota’s local governments spent more than $1.1 million to lobby the federal government in 2011, and at least $3.7 million since the start of 2009.
The biggest spenders in 2011 were the City of Minneapolis ($180,000), Hennepin County ($140,000), and Anoka County ($116,000).
The $221 million Capitol renovation proposal failed by one vote in the Minnesota House on Thursday. The project required 81 votes (three-fifths majority) since it requires borrowing of state funds.
The failed Capitol renovation plan was a top priority of Gov. Mark Dayton who has frequently urged legislators to pass legislation dealing with urgent and necessary renovations to the statehouse.
Both GOP and DFL members debated bonding proposals at length this week. In the end, 69 Republicans and 11 Democrats voted for the proposal that failed by one vote for an 80-50 tally.
In the midst of the fireworks from the legislature over the Vikings stadium and other key issues, an actual “fireworks bill” is making real progress.
On Tuesday, the Senate approved SF 1694 by a 41-22 vote. The legislation would legalize aerial fireworks in the state, a notable change from the current law that allows for sparklers and other ground-based fireworks.
Since passing the Senate, the legislation has been referred to the House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee.
Taxpayers already pay a high price to subsidize wind energy through billions in federal grants, loan guarantees and tax credits that prop up the “windustry”. Now the bill for state renewable energy mandates is coming due with hundreds of thousands of Minnesota electric co-op and utility customers picking up the tab.
Going green cost rural electric ratepayers in Minnesota more than $70 million last year, according to the Minnesota Rural Electric Association (MREA). The MREA represents about fifty mostly small, rural electric co-ops and utilities which serve more than 625,000 Minnesota homes and businesses.
“It’s an enormous subsidy. You have to add wind power, whether you need it or not,” said Mark Glaess, MREA executive director. “Right now we’re paying for wind we don’t need, we can’t use and can’t sell.”
The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota is an independent, non-profit educational and research organization that actively advocates the principles of individual freedom, personal responsibility, economic freedom, and limited government.
By focusing on some of the most difficult public policy issues facing Minnesota, we seek to foster greater understanding of the principles of a free society among leaders in government, the media, and the citizenry.
