March 27, 2008

HIGHLITES FROM THE SENATE

SENATOR MARK ZIEMAN

As this session starts to wind down, appropriation bills are making their way out of committees. This comes at the same time we are meeting our second funnel date, which will limit consideration for the most part to bills that have made it through the committee process. The Senate seems to have managed their bills better than the House, as most of the important bills have been advanced.

The appropriation process can be handled in different ways. The majority party has opted to advance bills individually rather than as one large bill. This does give us a chance to scrutinize each bill more closely, but it does not allow us to see the big picture as to how all these pieces will fit together. The Governor has laid the blame on Republicans for helping to pass his revenue busting budget last year. It will be very hard to vote for any bill without being able to see how it will affect our bottom line.

Everyone is interested to hear which bills became dying embers in committee by not making it through the funnel. Every bill introduced sparks someone’s interest, but not every bill lights a flame large enough to advance it. It may take several sessions for a bill to catch fire and garner enough momentum to land it on the Governor’s desk.

The highway funding bill may be one piece of legislation that won’t advance before the funnel. Of course, in the legislature, there are exceptions to the rules. Occasionally, bills that died a funnel death can still be resurrected to see the light of day. Any bill that deals with appropriations or ways and means issues are funnel proof. I suspect that if anything is going to happen with road funding, it will occur in the Ways and Means Committee.

Our ever expanding potholes have triggered a large outcry for something to be done about our roads. Since no one wants to raise taxes or fees in an election year, I fear a bumpy road lies ahead (and frequent vehicle wheel alignments).

A legislative forum will be held on Saturday, April 5, in New Hampton. Plan to join us at the Chickasaw County Farm Bureau office starting at 9:00 a.m.

Respectfully,

SENATOR MARK ZIEMAN
Senate District 8

For further information or clarification, please contact me at the Capitol (515) 281-3371 or at my home (563) 864-3104.