LEA is on the radio today.
John Augustine will be on AM1280 The Patriot with Mitch Berg at 2PM Dec 30th, for some year-end legislative talk and some frivolity. Then, at 4PM, Don Lee and John will be in the Twin Cities News Talk AM1130 studio with Sue Jeffers to talk about the LEA Report and the constitutional issues that will carry into next year.
Call in and join the discussion!
Links:
John Augustine was on Closing Argument with Walter Hudson Dec 20th at 9PM (Twin Cities News Talk, AM1130/FM103.5) to review the 2017 LEA Report on the Minnesota Legislature, and preview the legislature for 2018. Check out the podcast here (HR 1 John Augustine… Dec 20th):
https://itunes.apple.com/…/closing-argument-wi…/id1290900638
Check out the latest Living Free podcast. John Augustine discusses the recently released 2017 LEA Report on the Minnesota Legislature. http://www.livingfreepodcast.com/182-al-franken-episode/
Three members of the Minnesota State House have been honored in the Legislative Evaluation Assembly’s 2017 Report on the Minnesota Legislature. Nine legislators received an honorable mention.
This year’s evaluation focuses on sixteen floor votes that highlight important principles and policies. The 2017 report emphasizes the increasing use of unconstitutional multi-subject bills in place of the single-subject bills required by the Minnesota constitution. Multi-subject bills, often hundreds of pages long, have dominated the content of recent legislative sessions.
“Multi-subject bills are not only unconstitutional, but they derail accountability and allow special interests to manipulate the system at the expense of the citizens,” says LEA president, Don Lee. “Politicians love them for closed-door, team-based, deal-making. Citizens should hate them for the same reason.” The report condemns processes that create constitutional conflicts between the executive and legislative branches, such as making appropriations contingent upon passing certain policies. The governor signed bills and then tried to renegotiate by withholding the legislature’s funding. In another case, portions of a bill that the governor vetoed and did not become law were implemented by him anyway.
Download the 2017 LEA report here.
John Augustine presents award to 2016 Senate honoree Bruce Anderson
Over 60 people attended the LEA Annual Members’ Meeting and Legislative Awards Banquet, which was held February 21 at The Mermaid Event Center in Mounds View. LEA Board Chairman/President John Augustine spoke of the problems caused when our Minnesota Constitution’s single-subject rule is ignored, and of the threat that earlier election dates pose to all citizen groups evaluating public officials’ performance and educating fellow citizens about that performance.
Those in attendance also got to hear from two of the 2016 Senate honorees, Bruce Anderson and David Brown, as they rose from their seats to receive their award plaques. The keynote speech, “Economic Growth: Let’s Do Better,” was given by Univ. of St. Thomas Finance Professor John Spry. He noted the parallels between LEA’s published credo and the American Declaration of Independence. Among the barriers to achieving more robust economic growth that Spry discussed were miseducation and crony capitalism. The Minnesota tax code should not be so complex, as it is now with 57 property-tax classifications and four income-tax brackets, he argued. The biggest barrier Spry sees to robust, sustained economic growth is lower participation in the workforce, particularly among those just becoming eligible to enter it. The participation decline is both recent and dramatic. Whereas 60% of American teenagers had a summer job in 1989, only 33% did in 2016. Continue reading →
The annual LEA Legislative Awards Banquet will be held Tuesday, February 21, 2017 in the Coral Room, at the Mermaid Event Center 2200 County Hwy. 10, Mounds View (near Ramsey Co. Rd. H, just northwest of junction of Hwy. 10 and I-35W). Free parking and entrance are on the west side, in back of the building.
HONORING: Senators Bruce Anderson, David Brown, and Dave Thompson
Social Hour and Registration Begins at 5:30 P.M. — Dinner 6:30 P.M.
Featured Speaker: Prof. John Spry
Topic: “Economic Growth: Let’s Do Better”
What We Can Do to Promote Economic Growth Toward a Better, Lower, Broader, Simpler Tax Code, Improving Government Budgeting
Continue reading →
Three members of the Minnesota State Senate have been honored in the Legislative Evaluation Assembly’s 2016 Report on the Minnesota Legislature. Three legislators received an honorable mention.
Honorees: Senators Bruce Anderson, David Brown, and Dave Thompson. Honorable Mention: Senators Michelle Benson and David Osmek; Representative Steve Drazkowski.
Press Release by LEA President John Augustine
A half-century ago, candidates for the Minnesota legislature ran on the ballot without partisan designation, and legislators met in session every other year to conduct the business of the people. Many bills were passed, but they were fairly simple. Certainly, not all the laws that passed were good laws, but they were easier to understand and to repeal if they created more problems than they addressed. The simplicity allowed a good citizen legislator to achieve competence and function effectively without pursuing a full-time career as a government official. Continue reading →
by John P. Augustine
Note from Mr. Augustine, Chairman and President of the Legislative Evaluation Assembly of Minnesota: LEA is on record in its 2015 report (available at www.lea-mn.org) as being opposed to felon-voting restoration language very similar to what is in a bill that has been passed by the 2016 Minnesota Senate. However, the views expressed in this piece are the author’s and not necessarily those of the LEA Board or its members.
It has become trendy for activists across the political spectrum to support automatic restoration of voting rights to convicted felons not in prison, regardless of whether the offenders have completed all the terms of the sentencing process. Continue reading →
The Annual LEA Legislative Awards Banquet will be held on Thursday, March 3rd, 2016, in the Coral Room at The Mermaid Event Center, 2200 County Hwy. 10, Mounds View (near Ramsey Co. Rd. H, just northwest of junction of Hwy. 10 and I-35W) free parking and entrance are on the west side, in back of the building.
Honorees: Senators Bruce Anderson, Michelle Benson, Dan Hall, Mary Kiffmeyer, Branden Petersen, and Dave Thompson. Honorable Mention: Senator Ortman; Representative Drazkowski.
Social Hour and Registration Begins at 5:30 P.M. — Dinner 6:30 P.M. Continue reading →
Six members of the Minnesota State Senate have been honored in the Legislative Evaluation Assembly’s 2015 Report on the Minnesota Legislature. Two legislators received an honorable mention.
Honorees: Senators Bruce Anderson, Michelle Benson, Dan Hall, Mary Kiffmeyer, Branden Petersen, and Dave Thompson. Honorable Mention: Senator Ortman; Representative Drazkowski.
Press Release by LEA President John Augustine
Do More Bills Getting Votes Lead to Better Legislation?
“Paradoxically, the answer appears to be yes,” notes LEA President John Augustine. “One of the most commonly-used sayings in our culture is ‘quality, not quantity’. However, this trend of pushing more new law into fewer bills is not producing better results.” The increased reliance on omnibus bills hurts accountability, as it provides legislators with more cover to vote for bad policies in bills that also contain some things that have value. It also gives more power to a small group of leaders, because these bills almost always end up in conference-committee negotiations and get to the floor late in session. Members lose opportunities to push for amendments to make the legislation better in the event it reaches the governor’s desk, or to override a governor’s vetoes made after the end of session. Crafting bills with so much packed into them also increases the chances of stalemate and special sessions to settle budgetary disputes. The accountability problems created by these huge omnibus bills are magnified even further in special session, when the legislature simply convenes to ratify the products of closed-door negotiations, without much media scrutiny or citizen input through committee hearings. Continue reading →