Shutdown Negotiations Behind Closed Doors Mean Residents are Left Out

With the state shutdown approaching three weeks, we are reminded how many tentacles state government has in our daily lives. Why does the government need to be involved in so many things especially when the courts and Governor Dayton himself has deemed many of our government services as “non-essential”? If the services that the government is providing are not essential, we need to have a serious review of those programs.

Governor Dayton has stated that he will not call for a special session until both sides come up with an agreeable proposal and sign the legislation. This also brings great concerns to me. Governor Dayton has proposed an additional $1.4 billion dollars but has not yet stated publicly what these funds would be used for. If a special session is not called, Residents of Minnesota will not be able to know what these funds are for. If a negotiated budget proposal is going to be drafted, and signed, residents of Minnesota must be allowed to know what the proposals are. In order to maintain a fair, open and transparent governmental process, we must open up the discussions for public debate.

During a regular session, bills have public hearings to allow residents' voices to be heard and to allow residents to see what is being debated. Without a special session being called, we do not know what is going into these bills at the capitol.

We need our legislators to be able to bring the proposals back to the people they represent so we can see specifically what is going into these bills. We do not need a repeat of the federal government, when law makers admitted they did not even read what was in the bills before voting in favor of them. (Patriot Act, health care bills). Minnesota can not afford to increase budgets, especially when lawmakers don’t even know what is in the bills, and when we already have a spending problem.

The governor refuses to call a special session for the state shutdown until legislation is drafted, approved and signed by both sides in the legislature, but is still willing to call a special session for a stadium bill that does not have the majority of support with either party? (“Dayton spokesman Katie Tinucci confirmed that Dayton on Friday said he would consider calling a special legislative session in the fall.” http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/125671773.html) His priorities are messed up. Representative Joe Atkins is also asking the question on his website if we should include a stadium bill in a government shutdown special session! With so many other pressing issues, on the table, is this really what we expect our elected officials to be working on?