Dear Neighbors,
March 8 was the first day of the 2016 legislative session. With the restoration of the State Capitol still ongoing, the session is expected to be extremely abbreviated. According to the Minnesota State Constitution, the legislature must adjourn for the year by May 23. This means that we will only have roughly ten weeks to complete our work at the Capitol. The shortest regular legislative session in modern Minnesota history was in 1986 with just 47 days in session, and it’s possible this year will be less.
I would like to take a moment to share with you some logistics on public access to the Capitol during this year’s session. The allowed maximum occupant capacities for the Capitol Building this year is 278 people, which includes the 134 elected Representatives. That means there are only 144 spots for essential support staff, press, custodial, and public safety staff and most importantly, the public. It is extremely disappointing to me that the Speaker’s policy will discourage citizens from engaging in the political process and with their elected Representatives.
Governor’s State of the State Address
I attended the Governor’s State of the State Address on March 9 at the McNamara Center on the University of Minnesota’s campus. Governor Dayton mentioned Minnesota’s national recognition from CNBC as the best place to do business, first in the nation in Gallup’s 2015 Job Creation Index and best state to retire in according to AARP. We have achieved these merits by investing in our citizens.
With a $900 million budget surplus, we must be extremely cautious of the implications expensive tax cuts have on our state. While that may sound like a lot of money, the GOP Chair of the House Ways and Means committee said recently that if we were to add in anticipated inflation the state would be in a deficit for our next budget. I stand by the Governor’s number one priority this session, which is to protect the fiscal integrity of our state government. When we are responsible with our budget, we are creating long term economic sustainability, which is a win for Minnesota.
I was pleased to hear the Governor’s commitment to address racial disparities and inequalities. The time is now to create more opportunity and prosperity for those who have been struggling for far too long.
Presidential Caucuses VS. Primaries
Minnesota has almost always led the country in civic engagement and voter participation. I believe that’s because of our strong civic ethic and commitment to our communities. When Minnesotans have their voices heard we’re a stronger state.
A number of members of our community have expressed their frustrations with the presidential caucus process in Minnesota. There was a recent article in the StarTribune discussing that moving to a primary is a bipartisan debate and not exclusively a Democrat nor Republican issue.
Here are some ideas to take into consideration:
Do we use a primary just for the presidential preference ballot or drop the caucus system all together? Caucuses, even with their flaws, do allow more emphasis on grassroots participation and political engagement. Primaries require more big money and expectations for candidates to raise big money. The late Senator Paul Wellstone often observed that he would not have gotten the DFL endorsement for his first run for the U.S. Senate had it not been for the caucus process.
If we move to a primary do we require voters to register by party as many other states do, or hold an open primary? There are arguments for both. Partisan registration has never gotten broad support in Minnesota even after being proposed a number of times.
I would like to see us have a hybrid process with reforms to the caucus process to facilitate more participation, but still using that as our key approach to endorsing candidates below the presidential level. I'm sure there will be significant discussion this year at the legislature on this proposal. We have at least two years before the next caucuses and four before the next presidential campaign giving us time for the thorough discussion it merits.
Please feel free to contact me on any issue. I am available by phone at 651-296-0173 or via email at rep.jim.davnie@house.mn.
Sincerely,
Jim Davnie
State Representative