There are a lot of groups who have been hurt by the policies passed by Republicans in the legislature. Most are just victims of the Republicans’ budget. A few, though, have been under active attack by the Republican majority. One of those groups is renters.

Renters took a big hit from last year’s cuts to the Renters’ Credit. Now, though, Republicans have decided that wasn’t enough, and they’re proposing even larger cuts::

Here we go again with another proposal to dramatically cut the Renters’ Credit, a property tax refund for about 300,000 low- and moderate-income Minnesota households. It refunds a portion of the property taxes that renters pay through their rents. More than one-quarter of participating households include seniors and/or people with severe disabilities.

On Wednesday night, the House Property and Local Tax Division passed House File 1914, which cuts business property taxes, primarily through phasing out the state property tax paid by businesses and cabins. Unfortunately, it cuts the Renters’ Credit to partially pay for the tax cuts.

I don’t understand what the Republicans’ problem is with renters, but they seem to be a constant target. Republicans seem intent on squeezing money from renters, even as they work hard to enrich the wealthy. It’s a sick reverse-Robin Hood policy that doesn’t represent Minnesotans’ values.

Senate Republicans just can’t seem to get the hang of ethical behavior. Every week, it seems there’s a fresh revelation of wrongdoing from the body. Not only that, it all comes from the leadership.

In particular, the Senate’s hiring of Steve Sviggum has proven to be an ethical minefield. First, there’s the issue of Sviggum’s tenure as a University of Minnesota regent, and whether that conflicts with his partisan role in the legislature. The U certainly seems to think it might, as it has retained a lawyer to advise it on the situation. Then, he just adds to the problems by doing something like this:

The chief spokesman for the Senate Republican caucus admitted today that taxpayers should not have paid for a pamphlet that was distributed at last week’s precinct caucuses.

Fifteen Republican senators handed out the brochures on caucus night. Republicans admitted their error just minutes after state DFL Party officials filed a campaign finance complaint.

Printing campaign materials on the taxpayers’ dime. Lovely. And let’s not lose sight of the fact that the blame this scandal does not just fall on Sviggum alone. The illegal pamphlets were approved by Majority Leader David Senjem himself.

Sviggum’s apology is all well and good, but not enough. This is a clear campaign finance violation, and the Republicans who violated the law need to face the consequences.

Senate Majority Leader David Senjem thinks things are getting too tense in Saint Paul:

“It’s time to put the spears down,” said Senjem.

Err… Senator Senjem? Aren’t you the one who started the legislative session with an unprecedented attack on the minority party? Aren’t you the one who just led your party in rejecting one of the Governor’s nominees? And that was in the first two weeks of the session.

So those actions were okay, but the Governor vetoing your effort to strip consumer protections is unacceptable? If that’s what you mean, you really should have clarified your statement: 

“It’s time [for the DFL] to put the spears down,” said Senjem.

I suspect that’s what you really meant — it’s fine for the GOP to play rough, but the DFL should absolutely not reciprocate in any way. That sounds perfectly reasonable.

Earlier today, Mark Dayton vetoed a number of Republican bills that would have reduced consumer protections under the law. The GOP calls these “tort reform,” and claims they’re about reducing frivolous lawsuits. In reality, they provide new windfalls for corporations by taking away our rights to address their wrongdoings.

In one of his veto letters [PDF], Governor Dayton got to the crux of the issue:

I am deeply concerned that this legislation would make it more difficult for average citizens to defend themselves against powerful interests. The suggestion that passage of this measure will somehow create jobs in Minnesota lacks merit and substantiation. Not a single job would be created — but important protections would be greatly impaired.

In this legislative session, we’ve already seen time and time again that the GOP isn’t working to create jobs. Just like last year, all of their energy is focused on giving gifts to the already rich and powerful. I’m glad we have Governor Dayton watching our backs.

Nobody — and I mean nobody — thinks the Republican-controlled legislature is doing a good job, according to a recent SurveyUSA poll.

Mark Dayton has a solid 50 percent approval rating. With 33 percent disapproving, that gives him an excellent +17 net favorability rating. The legislature, on the other hand, has a 17 percent approval rating, and 65 percent disapproval, for a whopping -48 net favorability.

Sure, the usual caveats apply — an executive nearly always does better than a legislative body, people often feel better about their own representative than they do about the entire body, etc. No matter how much you try to stretch it, though, the numbers are ugly. It looks like Republican legislators are going to be getting what they deserve this November.

In pushing for the Governor’s proposed $775 million bonding proposal, it looks like the Dayton administration will focus on the proposals’ abilities to jumpstart private spending and the creation of permanent jobs. On Friday, the Governor’s team posted an example — a $25 million project to revitalize Nicollet Mall:

The revitalization of Nicollet Mall as a signature business, pedestrian, and retail corridor will help leverage $2.7 billion dollars in private investment to Downtown Minneapolis, creating 13,000 new permanent jobs by 2025. These jobs will generate $174 million dollars in direct revenue to the State of Minnesota. Additionally, reconstruction and redevelopment along the mall will create 22,000 construction related jobs.

Governor Dayton’s bonding proposals strengthen the Minnesota’s economy by using state resources to leverage increased private investment. Reinvigorating Nicollet Mall will help bring new jobs and investments to downtown Minneapolis, continuing a trend towards a more vibrant downtown. Governor Dayton is committed to growing our economy, improving quality of life, and Building a Better Minnesota through important projects like Nicollet Mall. [Emphasis added]

The administration’s focus on leveraging private investments is smart, because it really emphasizes the point of a stimulus program. It’s not just to spend money directly to create jobs — it’s to provide sparks to jumpstart the private economy. The Nicollet Mall project is a perfect example of that.

Even if the estimates above end up being significantly over-confident, a small public investment will jumpstart private investments many times larger than the relatively small cost of the project. This small public investment could leverage billions in private funding, creating thousands of jobs and ultimately paying for itself. How many Minnesotans would really object to that?

The MNGOP is upset that some cities and counties have raised their local levies to compensate for the millions of dollars the GOP took away from them. And doggone it, they’re going to do something about it! That’s why Rep. Greg Davids (R-Preston) is sponsoring the Stay Down, Cities! Act of 2012*:

Local units of government could find their ability to raise levies curtailed….

Last year the Legislature re-crafted the market value homestead credit, leaving some communities with less state aid. Davids said while most local governments “acted responsibly” and did not raise their levy, approximately $413 million was raised by others who “went overboard.”…

The bill, which has no Senate companion, would allow a local government’s levy limit to grow by 1.9 percent annually.

Quite a racket they’ve got going, huh? First, they take away millions of dollars from cities and counties. Then, they express their outrage that local governments increased their levies to make up the difference. Finally, they gallantly propose to put a stop to property taxes by legislative fiat.

If the GOP wants to do something about rising property taxes, they should look in the mirror. Stop slashing aid to local governments. Stop taking from the poor and giving to the rich. Stop trying to dismantle our state government and force its responsibilities on our cities and counties. Instead of trying to mandate the impossible, just stop demanding more from local governments while simultaneously cutting their funding.

*No, that’s not currently the official name. Maybe Rep. Davids would like to consider it, though?

When they’re not busy with petty attacks against the DFL, the MNGOP’s big focus this year is supposed to be “reform.” That’s the agenda they hope will convince the public to forget about how the GOP sold them out last year when it comes time to vote. Of course, their so-called “reform” is just the same garbage the GOP has been pushing for the last 30 years, but at least it’s a better election-year platform than “sorry we put the state $1.4 billion in debt!”

Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) says that if we’re going to talk about “reform,” we should be starting by reforming the legislature itself. Winkler and other DFL legislators are introducing a package of reforms that includes the following:

• Require parties to disclose when legislators are on the party payroll.
• Prohibit party officials from holding public jobs in the House, Senate, and Joint Legislative Commissions.
• Ban closed door meetings and meetings between midnight and 7 am.
• Require the Legislature to institute a plan for record retention.
• Prevent future state shutdowns by continuing appropriations at current levels if no budget agreement is reached by the end of the budget period.
• Create a redistricting commission to draw political boundaries in the future.
• Limit the amount a governor can unilaterally reduce spending via the process known as “unallotment.”

These all seem like simple common sense to me. The redistricting commission might be a bit controversial, but there’s one major reason to support it: The legislature and Governor haven’t been able to agree on a redistricting plan for decades now, making the existing system completely useless.

So will the GOP legislature consider these reforms? Given that they haven’t been written for them by the masters at ALEC, it’s unlikely.

To say Mark Dayton is angry at the partisan attack on one of his appointees would be putting it mildly. Dayton is clearly furious — as he has every right to be. Senate Republicans are clearly bent on spending the legislative session doing nothing but attacking the DFL.

In response to the vote against Ellen Anderson, Dayton released a long statement slamming the Republicans as “unfit to lead:”

You would think after their leadership scandals, which caused them to replace all of their leaders last month, they would behave themselves for at least a little while.  However, they seem incapable of doing so.  After it was disclosed that they had ignored a $2.6 million reduction in their own operating budget during the past six months, the Republican Caucus hired a new Communications Director at a salary $10,000 above his predecessor.  And they picked someone, a decent man, who now has a very serious conflict of interest as a University of Minnesota Regent, which he won’t acknowledge and they won’t deal with – thus sullying the good reputation of our great university.

Last week, their very first week back in session, the Senate Republican leaders addressed their deficit by cutting DFL Senators’ share of the budget almost half-a-million dollars, while cutting theirs…zero.  Zero.  They did it after their new Leader said the Senate was “like family.”  Some family. 

Now, to begin their second week, they have smeared and rejected an outstanding public official.  They claim PUC Chair Anderson is “too extreme.”  Her record proves them wrong.  Since she joined the PUC, there have been 221 votes among the five commissioners, the other four of whom were all appointed by Governor Pawlenty.  Three of them are Republicans….

I’ll tell you what is extreme.  As Chair of the Senate Tax Committee, Senator Julianne Ortman, who leveled the charge of being “too extreme” against Ellen, is the one person most to blame for eliminating the Homestead Market Value Credit last year.  She put the credit’s elimination in the first tax bill, which I vetoed.  During the final negotiations in both June and July, she, more than anyone, insisted on eliminating it.

Clearly, Dayton is hurt by the GOP’s partisan attacks. And can you blame him? In one short week, the GOP has completely blown up any chance of a productive working environment in the Senate. One can’t help but wonder why they decided to create such a poisonous atmosphere.

The legislature has only been back in session for a week, but we already have a clear sense of new majority leader David Senjem’s leadership style: petty and vindictive. On the very first day of the session, his party voted to force the DFL to bear the consequences of the GOP leadership’s fiscal irresponsibility. To start week two, they ousted a dedicated public servant from office:

Minnesota Republicans took the rare step on Monday of voting to remove an appointee of DFL Gov. Mark Dayton.

By a 37-29 party-line vote, Republicans voted against confirming Ellen Anderson, a former longtime member of the Senate, as Dayton’s appointee to chair the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.

Trying to hide the vindictive partisan motives behind the move, GOP Senators claimed Anderson was too “extreme.” But as Patrick has already covered, if Ellen Anderson’s tenure at the PUC was “extreme,” then the entire body is extreme, since nearly every vote it has taken has been unanimous during Anderson’s tenure.

Apparently this is what we have to look forward from the GOP under Senjem — a fresh partisan outrage every single week. You’d think they’d be more interested in trying to rebuild their credibility with voters, but I guess they just don’t care about actually governing.