CCAgenda_03Jul9 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Changes Also For Lobbyists Because we have professional government relations people from all over the state and around the country, we don't want to overlook changes in Minnesota state laws that ap- ply to them specifically. By the time lawmakers headed home in late May, they had made the following. changes: Principals (see definition in state statute, but it generally means a lobbyist's clients) must pay a new $50 fee to the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board (CFPB) on or before March 15~' of each year; lobbyists must register with the CFPB within 5 days of being retained by a client; the number of reports required of lobbyists has been re- duced from three to two by January 15 and June 15; lob- byists who were registered with the CFPB on January 15, Will Locals Take a Pounding? There is no definable research that suggests that at the lo- cal level in Minnesota most elected officials are Republi- can. All we've been able to gather during the past two weeks as we called around is anecdotal indications that seem to support that idea. If Republicans are, as we think, largely in control of municipal, township and county government in Minnesota, it's going to be interesting to see if the high- flying Taxpayers League of Minnesota attacks them with as much vigor as it did DFL proposals for increased taxes during the recently-completed legislative session. The key, of course, is whether local governments-especially cities, towns and counties-will attempt to raise local property taxes to make up for revenue losses from cutbacks in local government aid. The same thing is true for local boards of education. Will they attempt, at least in this first year of the new biennium, to raise taxes to make up for the monies they sought and didn't get during the legislative session. From everything we've learned from Taxpayers League fn- 2003, must pay a $50 fee, by August 15, 2003, for each client they represented on that date; the definition of a lob- byist has been amended to require the registration and re- porting of all clients if a lobbyist is paid more than $3,000 per year by a client. The Legislature also directed the CFPB to devise a new and equitable fee schedule to cover lobby- ists, political action committees (PACs) and political party units. The fees will have to be set high enough to recover the CFPB costs of regtitlating elections and election-related issues. That fee schedule must be done by mid-January of next year as a recommendation to the 2004 Legislature to be included in state law siders, the organization is already gearing up a publicity broadside against those local governments that attempt to raise local property taxes following the successful "no new taxes" legislative session. Whether the League has the re- sources to purchase local radio, television and newspaper advertising to raise the awareness of the local voters as to pending action by their elected officials is, as yet, undeter- mined. One thing we think you can count on: The Taxpay- ers League has one of the best intelligence operations work- ing in the state. The organization has supporters ready and willing to report back to League headquarters in the Twin Cities even the slightest suggestion that a property tax increase is under consideration. This includes local levy referendums to increase K 12 funding through the local property tax. Unlike other years, when there was little to enliven the political scene in anon-election year, this might prove to be the most interesting summer and fall ever in rural Minnesota politics. Truth continued from page 1 Probably not. Bush has a little more risk, simply because not finding WMD's is so embarrassing and wlll be brought up again and again. But if the economy improves a bit, or we're at war with someone else, he'll be just fine in his re- election effort. For Pawlenty it's not going to be a question of whether or not he told the truth about shrinking government, it wlll be, rather, whether people think he went too far or just about right in the cuts he made. In truth this budget won't matter all that much should Pawlenty decide to run for reelection. By that time there will be a whole new set of issues on the table. Nonetheless at least one of your edi- tors finds it disturbing that we're beginning to act locally like they do in Washington. Our long memory about Minne- sota says that most of the time our pols were basically truth- tellers; sometimes exaggerators to be sure, but truth-tell- ers nonetheless. This new approximation of what consti- tutes the truth stands the chance of being quite disturbing. Volume 21, Number 20 July 3, 2003 page 7