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You Voted for Them - Find Out if They're Voting for You
Voting is the core responsibility of state legislators. It's a job that is simple, but far from easy. BillsandVotes.com exists to document the hundreds of roll call votes taken each year in the Minnesota Legislature.
It all comes down to the green button or the red button...
Fair and Clean Elections
When election laws invite fraud and when election officials turn a blind eye to fraud, voters are disenfranchised. Minnesota is currently in crisis mode when it comes to our election process. Under Secretary Ritchie, ballot handling, election day procedures, absentee voting - the core elements of the voting process are suspect. These votes show that Democrats are just fine with the status quo.
Purple fingers might not be a bad start... THE VOTES...
Legislative Reform
Many benefits accrue to those with election certificates in the Minnesota Statehouse - secretary, large office, covered parking, health insurance, roughly $41,000 salary, Internet service, laptop, media writers, research services, photography services, mileage and housing and a pension. All in all it's a pretty good gig.
Is a little reform too much to ask? THE VOTES...
Quote of the Week Talking about this is politically unpopular and potentially even career suicide for most officeholders. But at some point, someone is going to have to get honest about the fact that 80 percent of the state, county and city budget deficits are due to employee costs. Either we do something about it at the ballot box, or a judge will do something about in Bankruptcy Court. --California’s former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown writing about California's public pension crisis.
The DFL Senority Matrons
These are the folks whose votes mean more than all other legislators combined: the all-powerful, virtually unbeatable seniority matrons known as the DFL Committee Chairs.
The sad truth is that most of these leadership Democrats reside in legislative districts that are immune from GOP challenges. Only highly financed DFL primary challengers with powerful connections can come close to unseating one of The Chairs.
Wanna make a difference? Cut off the body and the head will die. To take away their gavels, defeat the vulnerable rank and file Democrats who serve at the feet of The Chairs. THE VOTES...
Taxpayers League 2010 Scorecard
Check out the 2010 Taxpayers League Legislative Scorecard.
Taxpayers League president Phil Krinkie says, "This year's scorecard demonstrates that the vast majority of state legislators are not prudent with taxpayers' dollars... Taxpayers can easily discern from the scorecard who's voting to increase taxes and who is holding the line on state spending. It's a great tool to hold legislators accountable with a quick glance at their score."
Accountability. It's a good thing.
Taxpayers Versus Government Workers
Too bad it's come to this, but state policy makers can no longer ignore the out-of-control cost of maintaining the government workforce.
Government workers have it all: higher pay than the private sector, lower performance expectations, immunity from economic downturns, loads of vacation and sick leave, union representation and a retirement package that the private sector can only dream of.
THE VOTES...
Kitchen Table Economics
Balancing the state budget is a little like trying to get to Heaven - legislators know what they need to do, but they just can't make themselves do it.
Looming on the horizon are billions in state debt caused by government worker pension liabilities and welfare programs on automatic pilot.
THE VOTES...
Private Property Rights vs The State
In America, real estate is meant to be owned by private citizens. But government has an endless stream of funding - called "taxes" - that it uses to take private property.
The DNR, for one, controls 5.6 million of Minnesota's 55 million acres. Property rights is one of the three 2010 top issues at BillsandVotes.com.
THE VOTES...
Random Vote Generator
The scientists at BillsandVotes.com have developed a machine that randomly selects a vote from the servers warehoused at our secret secure facility. Only scored votes have been included in the algorithm.
Think outside the issue area.
THE RANDOM VOTES...
Fiscal Restraint? What's That? 2010 Bonding Bill Votes
Once again the DFL left it up to the Governor to be the adult in the room. Unwilling to stand up to their bosses in Big Environment and Big Government Labor, the House and Senate dropped the 2010 Bonding Bill at the feet of the Governor and went and laid down by their dish.
A 10-page list of line item vetoes would take some of the worst items off of the state credit card. But there is no reform, no accountability, no job tracking, no support for critical public safety items, no willingness to set real priorities. THE VOTES...
The Omnibus Woodland Critters Finance Bill
House debate on HF 2624 - we call it the Omnibus Woodland Critters Finance Bill - showed how blind allegiance to interest groups can put legislators at odds with their core political values.
Private property rights are more important than the RIM program. Clean water is more important than environmental learning centers. These votes are all about priorities.
THE VOTES...
By billsandvotes.com on
Friday, August 27, 2010 11:06 AM
As promised in Part 2, here’s a closer look at the cost of the Minnesota pension bailout. This time we’ll focus on increased taxpayer costs related to the Public Employees Retirement Association’s General Plan, which covers 375,000 local government employees who are not in public safety jobs and who are not teachers.
Too much, too late
Since 2005, the Legislature has shoveled a lot of fresh taxpayer contributions into the PERA-General Plan pension hopper. Increases authorized in 2005 were phased in over four years. The base rate of 5.1 percent was raised in steps to a total of 6 percent of salary in 2008. Another contribution hike was passed as part of the 2010 “reform” bill to bring the total normal taxpayer contribution to 6.25 percent of payroll. And something called the Additional Employer Contribution was added to go from 0.43 percent of salary to 1.0 percent of salary when...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Wednesday, August 25, 2010 5:41 PM
Much of Minnesota's pension reform legislation this year was an exercise in tweaking the valves in the dank old boiler room where the $50 billion Government Pension Machine sits. The union bosses at the controls have changed minute little settings, like cutting the interest rate on refunds and ratcheting back the increase in benefits. They've re-tuned state government's largest money machine to make it a tad more efficient - at least until the heat is off.
The few reductions in the increases and increases in the reductions are temporary and subject to change just like every other provision in the laws that government Minnesota government worker pensions. Bookkeeping gimmicks designed to make the funding status of each plan look better on paper include rolling the full funding dates forward (think of your mortgage coming due in a few years and the bank showing you owe more than you should - adding another 10 or 20 years to the due date will make things look much better - or at least postpone any painful...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Sunday, August 22, 2010 10:07 PM
Part 1 of an occasional series on the Minnesota government worker pension bailout crisis.
To hear them talk about it, you would think the DFL had passed some major pension reform in 2010. Not so. The few reductions in the increases and increases in the reductions are temporary and subject to change just like every other provision in the politicized body of law that governs Minnesota government worker pensions. And then there's the lawsuit that could unravel the whole thing.
Let's face it, the members of the Minnesota Pension Cartel don't get paid to do nothing. They get paid the big bucks by the government worker unions and the retired government worker member associations to bring home the pension bacon: earlier retirements, bigger benefits, higher taxpayer "contributions," looser accounting standards, cheaper buybacks... The list is long.
While the vast majority of private sector employees have seen their 401k plans dry up and blow away - while these hardworking taxpayers are having...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Thursday, August 19, 2010 4:54 AM
Families, Faith and Life
Body: House | Journal Page: 11276
Scored? Yes | Right Vote: Y
Author: Fritz
Acting on: HF2614 Date: 05/04/2010
Result: Amendment Defeated 66 - 66
This has gone on long enough, Rep. Fritz. For the third time in two years the DFL leadership has made a mockery of your efforts to end taxpayer funding of abortions. Look at the votes below and the pattern is obvious. Same DFL amendment author, same issue, same vote margin - let just enough DFLers vote pro-life and then lock the board and declare a tie. This is legislative vote-fixing at it's most cynical. Pure unadulterated CYA voting.
And these three amendments dealt with abortion provisions that are supported by a majority of Americans. ...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 3:24 AM
Families, Faith and Life
Body: House | Journal Page: 11541 Scored? Yes | Right Vote: N
Author: Simon
Acting on: HF890 Date: 05/05/2010
Result: Bill Passed 86 - 35
(Updated: 08/17/2010 | Copyright © BillsandVotes.com)
HF 890 makes controversial changes to laws governing assisted reproduction, or surrogacy. According to bill author Steve Simon, 300,000 Minnesotans have sought these agreements. The effort to regulate surrogacy has been attempted in the past and a recent bill was vetoed by Governor Pawlenty. Rep. Simon claimed, "This is not that bill," but the final vote, the amendments and the fact that the bill did not make it to the Governor's desk would indicate that there was still plenty of controversy. Among the reasons to vote No were abrogation of the child's rights and the possibility of an abortion if the parties (excluding the unborn child, of course) cannot resolve differences. And the need for all the lawyers. Rep. Simon indicated that MCCL was neutral on the bill. ...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 5:31 PM
Red Tape and Licensing
Body: Senate | Journal Page: 9547
Scored? No |
Author: Prettner Solon
Acting on: SF525 Date: 04/12/2010
Result: Bill Passed 57 - 7
(Updated: 07/06/2010 | Copyright © BillsandVotes.com)
SF 525 (the 4th enGROSSment) imposes a new state-wide regulatory scheme on the oh-so-chic body art business. The bill defines "body art" as "physical body adornment using, but not limited to, tattooing and body piercing." Click here for the Minnesota Dept. of Health summary. The bill sets a state regulatory "floor" that allows stricter local ordinances, as a number of counties currently regulate this activity. No one under the age of 18 can receive a tattoo and piercings are only allowed if the parent is present and signs the required forms. Also prohibited for minors, regardless of parental consent, are "nipple or genital piercing, branding, scarification, suspension, subdermal implantation, microdermal, or tongue bifurcation." GROSS! The blood community likes...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Saturday, August 14, 2010 5:44 PM
Made a trip to the PO today to drop off a letter to Minnesota GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer and his campaign director, Mark Buesgens. Inside were two copies of HF 1762. Over the weekend Rep. Emmer reportedly tore up a copy of the bill, which he co-authored in 2009 with Rep. Buesgens. Emmer was apparently playing to the crowd at the Anoka Game Fair.
The hope is that both Emmer and Buesgens will keep a copy of HF 1762 with them at all times as a reminder of the conservative values they held prior to election season.
The Emmer/Buesgens bill would have placed a constitutional amendment before the voters in November to repeal the 2008 Sportingperson and Arts Community Trust Fund constitutional amendment and rebate any sales tax revenue back to the taxpayers. (In case you’re wondering who the Sportingpersons are, don’t confuse them with hunters and fishermen. Hunters and fishermen love the outdoors. Members of the Sportingperson Community love government control of the outdoors...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 7:30 AM
Fair and clean elections
Body: Minnesota House | Journal Page: 10149
Scored? No |
Author: Sertich
Acting on: SF2519 Date: 04/13/2010
Result: Decision Sustained 82 - 43
(Updated: 07/14/2010 | Copyright © BillsandVotes.com)
The Dean RA10-299 amendment was ruled not germane by Speaker pro tempore Hortman. Her ruling was upheld on a vote of 82-43. BillsandVotes.com normally keeps an electronic copy of banned amendments, but we missed this one, and so it is vanished from the public record.
Listening to Rep. Dean's explanation of his amendment, it sounds very similar to the Falk amendment, except that instead of gagging utilities from expressing...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 12:45 PM
Junk Science and Social Engineering
Body: House | Journal Page: 9757 Scored? Yes | Right Vote: Y
Author: Drazkowski
Acting on: HF2695 Date: 03/29/2010
Result: Amendment Defeated 40 - 92
(Updated: 06/12/2010 | Copyright © BillsandVotes.com)
The Drazkowski amendment deletes from the bill three sections related to the new green energy programs known as the Voluntary Energy Improvements Financing Program for Local Governments and the Qualified Green Building and Sustainable Design Projects Program. When government steps into the marketplace all sorts of weird things happen. The availability of government loans removes the incentive to reduce costs, for example. The need to qualify for the loan means products and technologies...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 11:34 AM
Fair and clean elections
Body: House | Journal Page: 10147
Scored? Yes | Right Vote: N
Author: Falk
Acting on: SF2519 Date: 04/13/2010
Result: Amendment Adopted 108 - 18
(Updated: 07/13/2010 | Copyright © BillsandVotes.com)
As Rep. Falk said by way of introducing his amendment, it dealt with an issue that many legislators "have felt uncomfortable with." That uncomfortable issue being the January Supreme Court ruling that took the gag out of the mouths of American businesses and allowed them to exercise their right to free speech. And the uncomfortable legislators being those whose party affiliation is DFL.
The Falk amendment puts the gag back into the mouths of Minnesota public utilities by banning them from using revenues "to...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Monday, July 12, 2010 9:08 PM
In light of the excellent work by MinnesotaMajority to focus the national spotlight on Minnesota's election mess, BillsandVotes.com is once again directing visitors to the 2010 Minnesota House and Senate votes on elections.
We can't stress enough how vital fair and clean elections are. These votes, along with the information being uncovered by MinnesotaMajority and other sources, make it clear that Minnesota Democrats are willing to win at any cost.
The DFL campaign machine is fueled by tribal casino money that buys Indian tribes protection from non-tribal gambling competition. It is fueled by phony state fair booths that funnel contributions to DFL candidates. It is fueled by government worker unions like AFSCME and Education Minnesota that want legislative protection from the economic realities outside of Agencyville. And if money isn't enough, there are many ways to tweak election laws. The DFL has consistently fought common sense reforms on the House and Senate floors...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Monday, July 12, 2010 10:23 AM
Red Tape and Licensing
Body: House | Journal Page: 10107
Scored? Yes | Right Vote: N
Author: Clark, K.
Acting on: SF3128 Date: 04/13/2010
Result: Bill Passed 92 - 39
SF 3128 requires compliance with new Obama Administration rules that mandate training in lead paint hazard mitigation. It requires that anyone performing work in a home built before 1978 must test for lead or assume that the house is contaminated with it. One problem brought out in debate is that the effective date of SF 3128 is February 1, 2011 while the federal rule is it based on goes into effect on Earth Day, April 22, 2010. Without the Murdock amendment to compel state regulators to waive compliance, SF 3128 basically allows contractors to be...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Wednesday, July 07, 2010 12:06 PM
Crime and Public Safety
Body: Senate | Journal Page: 9269
Scored? Yes | Right Vote: N
Author: Dille
Acting on: SF2790 Date: 04/06/2010
Result: Amendment Adopted 43 - 20
(Updated: 07/07/2010 | Copyright © BillsandVotes.com)
After adopting the noncontroversial first portion of the Dille amendment, the Senate took up the second portion. This change would modify the circumstances under which a person could be found guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree (statutory rape) in cases where the victim is between the ages of 13 and 16 (MS 609.344, subd. 1). The new language would stipulate that the person is guilty if he is more than 36 months older...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Wednesday, July 07, 2010 10:59 AM
Taxpayers versus Government Workers
Body: Senate | Journal Page: 9549
Scored? Yes | Right Vote: N
Author: Metzen
Acting on: SF2386 Date: 04/12/2010
Result: Bill Passed 48 - 16
(Updated: 07/07/2010 | Copyright © BillsandVotes.com)
SF 2386 is the legislation by which the House and Senate ratify the 11 state union contracts and the 7 state compensation plans for the few state employees who are not given union protection. It has taken years of state deficits and hard line negotiation by the Pawlenty administration to obtain pay and benefit levels that have at least some relation to the terrible economic reality outside the cushy confines of Agencyville.
This three page bill spends $39.5 million in new money for the...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Tuesday, July 06, 2010 12:40 AM
Families, Faith and Life
Body: Senate | Journal Page: 9263
Scored? Yes | Right Vote: N
Author: Hann
Acting on: SF525 Date: 04/06/2010
Result: Ruling Upheld 45 - 20
(Updated: 07/06/2010 | Copyright © BillsandVotes.com)
The Hann amendment would repeal MS 144.343, subdivision 1, which statutorily orders parents to stay out of the lives of their minor children who may be pregnant or suffering from a venereal disease or drug addiction. The law states that "Any minor may give effective consent for medical, mental and other health services to determine the presence of or to treat pregnancy and conditions associated therewith, venereal disease, alcohol and other drug abuse, and the consent of no other person is required."
The...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Friday, July 02, 2010 5:27 AM
Body: Senate | Journal Page:
6991 (Click to view vote.)
Scored? Yes | Right Vote: Y
Author: Gerlach
Acting on: HF2700 Date: 02/16/2010
Result: Amendment Defeated 29 - 38
The Gerlach amendment would cap at $100,000 the current One Percent for Art program in MS 16B.35, subdivision 1. As long as it doesn't exceed one percent of the cost of a new building, current law puts no limit on the amount that can be spent on the government-approved pseudo art that "adorns" (have you seen some of this stuff?) government buildings. Spend $60M and the art cap is $600,000.
The DFL considers this program to be one of critical importance. When the GOP took control of the House in '99, Sen. Gerlach, then a proud member of the House,...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 8:26 PM
Freedom and Liberty
Body: House | Journal Page: 9197
Scored? Yes | Right Vote: N
Author: Seifert
Acting on: HF1671 Date: 03/22/2010
Result: Ruling Upheld 86 - 48
(Updated: 07/01/2010 | Copyright © BillsandVotes.com)
On the morning after passage in Washington of ObamaCare, Rep. Seifert offered an amendment (LINK) to direct Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson to file a lawsuit in federal district court. The amendment directed Swanson to challenge "the federal government's authority under the United States Constitution to regulate interstate commerce to force individuals to buy health insurance." Seifert incorporated language in his amendment to...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Monday, June 28, 2010 10:58 PM
Taxpayers versus Government Workers
Body: Senate | Journal Page: 9003
Scored? Yes | Right Vote: N
Author: Olson, M.
Acting on: SF271 Date: 03/25/2010
Result: Bill Passed 46 - 10
(Updated: 05/14/2010 | Copyright © BillsandVotes.com)
Having been shut out of the governor's office for decades, Minnesota Democrats have developed a loathing for the person who occupies the office and for the handful of non-union, unclassified employees who help implement the governor's policies. This early engrossment of SF 271 amends the state whistleblower statute to carve out a new protection that applies only to unionized state workers. As if this lot needs any more job security, right? The change basically allows these workers to huddle with their partisans in the House and Senate to talk about how the governor is putting together the budget, as in information...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Sunday, June 27, 2010 10:35 AM
BillsandVotes.com hit the 400 vote mark this weekend, with 402 total votes posted. Of those, 198 are scored - 136 in the Minnesota House, 62 in the Minnesota Senate.
With hundreds of 2010 roll call votes to go, clear voting patterns are already emerging. "I'm really pleased with the way the dynamic scoring application is working," said site owner Bob Shipman. "If you look at the member scores, the percentages of correct votes track closely with what we know about individual legislators and the four House and Senate Caucuses in general."
"It's no surprise, for example, that House Republicans Mark Buesgens and Joyce Peppin are at the top of the House GOP list," said Shipman. "Nor is it surprising that Larry Howes and Jim Abeler are at the bottom of the list." Ray Vandeveer is by far the...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Sunday, June 27, 2010 8:25 AM
Families, Faith and Life
Body: Senate | Journal Page: 9011
Scored? Yes | Right Vote: Y
Author: Ortman, J.
Acting on: SF2437 Date: 03/25/2010
Result: Amendment Defeated 30 - 31
(Updated: 06/27/2010 | Copyright © BillsandVotes.com)
The Ortman amendment tested the limits of just how far the supposedly pro-woman DFL Senate Caucus is willing to go to stop domestic abuse. The amendment would expand the statutory definition of domestic abuse to include "using or threatening to use any form of domination or control for the purpose of causing a family or household member to obtain an unwanted medical procedure." Like, say, an abortion. Or a tubal ligation. Certainly the Senate's domestic abuse advocates can get behind...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Friday, June 25, 2010 1:36 PM
Freedom and Liberty
Body: House | Journal Page: 9899 Scored? Yes | Right Vote: Y Author: HolbergActing on: SF2866 Date: 04/08/2010Result: Amendment Adopted 92 - 38(Updated: 06/25/2010 | Copyright © BillsandVotes.com)
The Holberg amendment would prohibit the collection of data related to firearms as part of the Statewide Trauma Registry being created in SF 2866. The amendment prohibits trauma hospitals and the Department of Health "from collecting data on individuals regarding lawful firearm ownership in the state or data related to an individual's right to carry a weapon under section 624.714." MS 624.714 governs the carrying of weapons in Minnesota and includes the "must...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Friday, June 25, 2010 9:30 AM
Taxpayers versus Government Workers
Body: House | Journal Page: 9895
Scored? Yes | Right Vote: Y
Author: Buesgens
Acting on: HF2899 Date: 04/08/2010
Result: Amendment Defeated 49 - 81
(Updated: 06/24/2010 | Copyright © BillsandVotes.com)
The Buesgens amendment deletes the $50 retained by the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) when a filing fee is refunded to a substantially prevailing complainant in a Chapter 13 data practices hearing. If a citizen takes the government to court over an issue and wins, they shouldn't have to pay a fine. Vote Green.
...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Thursday, June 24, 2010 9:08 AM
Junk Science and Social Engineering
Body: House | Journal Page: 9854 Scored? Yes | Right Vote: N
Author: Kahn
Acting on: HF2616 Date: 04/08/2010
Result: Bill Passed 97 - 32
(Updated: 06/24/2010 | Copyright © BillsandVotes.com)
Rep. Kahn indicated that the bill came back from the Senate with an immediate effective date and no other changes. Current law allows a person ticketed for going through a red light on a motorcycle to use as an affirmative defense the fact that his motorcycle was too light to trigger the left turn lane signal. The rider can still be ticketed, but if he meets all of the conditions in MS 169.06, subdivision 9 the judge might dismiss the fine. Rep. Kahn's HF 2616 would allow the same affirmative defense for bicyclists.
...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 7:54 AM
Families, Faith and Life
Body: House | Journal Page: 9889
Scored? Yes | Right Vote: Y
Author: Kohls
Acting on: HF3137 Date: 04/08/2010
Result: Amendment Defeated 64 - 66
(Updated: 06/23/2010 | Copyright © BillsandVotes.com)
The Kohls amendment would require parental consent before a chemical use assessment could be conducted on a juvenile offender. Consultation with parents, as the language in the bill requires, is not the same as parental consent. Giving government yet more direct authority over children undermines the roll of parents and incrementally weakens the family. Giving parents an active roll in the intervention of their child's use of drugs enforces their responsibility to their child. Vote Green.
...
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By billsandvotes.com on
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 7:53 AM
The Tax Burden on Families and Job Creators
Body: House | Journal Page: 9867
Scored? Yes | Right Vote: Y
Author: Seifert
Acting on: SF2855 Date: 04/08/2010
Result: Amendment Adopted 82 - 50
(Updated: 06/22/2010 | Copyright © BillsandVotes.com)
The Seifert amendment simply requires that "counties must verify that all applications for MFIP [Minnesota Family Investment Program] include verification of citizen eligibility status for both applicants and recipients." Existing law requires the use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to conduct immigration status verifications, but use of the verification system is spotty at best. It's bad enough that the DFL uses the force of law to transfer wealth...
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