Monday, May 23, 2011
Republican legislators and Gov. Dayton could not agree on a budget deal before the end of the regular legislative session.
UPDATE (MAY 24 12:56 p.m.): Just 12 hours after the state legislature adjourned, Governor Mark Dayton vetoed the nine budget bills passed by the Republican legislature in the closing days of session, and returned the bills along with veto messages outlining areas of both agreement and concern. In his veto letters, Governor Dayton outlined the stark differences and the need for compromise: “Each of us started our budget proposals by making a choice. I chose a balanced approach to our budget; one that included both significant cuts, but asked the top two percent of Minnesotans to pay more to ensure our quality of life and the services millions of Minnesotans depend on. My approach chooses not to balance the budget on the backs of …
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Minnetonka Patch looks at several bills introduced by local legislators.
Last week, Minnesota legislators returned to their home districts for their traditional Passover and Easter break. With the break over and the session set to resume today, Minnetonka Patch took a look at some of the key bills authored by your legislators—Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka) and Rep. John Benson (DFL-Minnetonka). Sen. Bonoff: Chief-Authored Legislation Bill Bill Description Bill Status SF1271 Requiring the energy division of the Department of Commerce to research, study and report on the feasibility, costs, and potential revenue and other benefits for municipalities to harness the cooling capacity of geothermal/hydrothermal energy extracted from municipal wells. 4/26: Introduced and referred to the Energy, Utilities and …
Friday, April 15, 2011
A local senator is supporting legislation that would educate school staff about how to deal with concussions and also establish policies on what they should do when children are hit in the head during school sports.
Senator Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka) is co-authoring legislation that would require school coaches, staff and even students to know the first signs of a concussion and also enforce strict regulations about returning to the field after a concussion has occurred. Earlier this week, Bonoff said she has personally seen the damage that sports-related concussions can do to young people—both of her sons having suffered "severe concussions" while playing sports. She said school coaches and staff aren't educated thoroughly enough on how to deal with concussions when they happen. Bonoff detailed a time when her own son suffered a concussion playing football. She said it was a terrible blow to his head and that school officials merely told her to …
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Also last week, Sen. Bonoff introduced legislation that would allow a grandparent to be considered an immediate family member for the purposes of unemployment insurance coverage.
Editor’s Note: Capitol Review is a weekly look at what your state legislators are doing at the Minnesota Capitol—the bills they’re writing and the issues they’re getting behind. Come back to Minnetonka Patch every week for a new Capitol Review. The week ended with the Senate and House passing all of their omnibus finance bills, which Republican leaders felt was an accomplishment, according to a press release from non-partisan Public Information Services. While Republicans were happy to pass the bills within the first week of April, DFL-ers didn’t share in the joy, the release said. “I am concerned that the budget proposal that has been put forward completely eliminates budget reserves – the “rainy day account” that exists for emergency …
