Sen. Latz Week in Review: First Deadlines and A Moment of Silence

[The following weekly update was sent out by Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-District 44).]

We said good-bye to a friend this week; Senator Gary Kubly lost his year-long fight with ALS. On Monday, there was a moment of silence on the Senate floor followed by some very touching tributes. Senator Kubly was a dedicated public servant that always had the best interest of his constituents in mind and my thoughts and prayers go out to Pat and her family. The Senate cancelled all work on Wednesday and Governor Dayton proclaimed it Gary Kubly Day.

Floor session on Thursday contained long and loud discussion around the Republican’s withdrawal of the “Right to Work” constitutional amendment (S.F. 1705) from the Jobs & Economic Growth Committee, which has jurisdiction, and its transfer into Judiciary & Public Safety Committee for its first hearing. The bill is clearly a Jobs bill and should be heard in that committee first. As the DFL lead member of the Judiciary & Public Safety Committee, I made that argument on the floor. The Judiciary & Public Safety Committee has a full enough agenda that it was already scheduled for four meetings next week instead of its customary two. Now a fifth meeting has been added for Monday at 8 a.m. to hear just S.F. 1705. Traditionally bills have followed a specific process to enable thorough discussion among members and the ability for the public to come and testify. On Thursday, that process was thrown out of the window by the Senate majority.

On Tuesday night, Rep. Steve Simon and I gave our annual legislative update at the Hopkins City Council meeting.  It was broadcast for the community to learn more about issues of specific concern to the city council.

There is still discussion going on regarding the Governor’s veto of the “Shoot First” bill. I will be on Jack Rice’s show (AM950) from 7-9 a.m. Sunday morning with House author Rep. Cornish to discuss the bill. The show is also replayed at 4-6 p.m. that day.  I have led the Senate opposition to the bill, in concert with former St. Paul Police Chief and now Senator John Harrington, and the MN Chiefs of Police, Sheriffs Assn., prosecutors (County Attorneys Assn.), and rank-and-file police officers (MPPOA).

Friday, March 16 is first deadline in the Senate. That means that a bill must pass through all of the committees that have jurisdiction over it in either the Senate or the House by Friday. If the bill does not make this deadline, it is technically done for the session. There are exceptions for bills in the Finance, Taxes and Bonding Committees.

We are now two months into session and I have been meeting with many constituent groups at the Capitol. This week I met with a group of business owners here for Hospitality Day as well as with the President and CEO of Discover St. Louis Park (former SLP council member John Basill). Tuesday, I met with a large group here for Jewish Women’s Morning at the Capitol. The rest of the week brought visits from the Courage Center, the Building & Trades Unions, the Minnesota Criminal Defense Lawyers, and both the Hopkins and Wayzata School Districts’ Legislative Action Coalitions. And, I met with a student here from St. Kate’s for MN Private Colleges Day. Students also left information for me during Minnesota Marriage and Therapy Day.

Please take a moment to fill out my 2012 Legislative Survey on-line, here is the link: https://surveys.senate.mn/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=82MJm82

The survey will remain open until March 30. Please continue to e-mail, write or phone me regarding your issues and concerns. As session becomes hectic, please be patient with me on response time.