ST. PAUL - The end of the 2012 Minnesota Legislature approaches amid strong partisan disagreements.
House Speaker Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, called a recent letter from Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton "snarky."
Dayton's letter to Zellers and Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, placed the blame squarely on them if a Vikings stadium, public works funding and Capitol building restoration fail this year.
"Whether they pass or not will be your decision and your responsibility, not mine," the governor wrote.
"His letter was not exactly a pen-pal letter," Zellers said in an interview.
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After last summer's budget impasse induced state government shutdown, state leaders said that with the big money issues behind them, they could work together this year.
There have been episodes of togetherness, but Dayton's comment that Senate Republicans are "unfit to govern" better explains the Capitol mood.
Dayton and the leaders say they like each other personally, but that has not spilled over into many policy compromises.
Warmth helps
Warm winter weather many Minnesotans welcomed contributed to good state budget news.
Minnesota Management and Budget reports employment recovered more quickly in Minnesota than in other states. Warmer weather "likely played a role," the agency's latest budget report says.
Minnesota has recovered more than 52 percent of the jobs lost in the recession, compared to about 40 percent nationally.
For service business, such as retail, employment has rebounded to nearly what it was before the recession began in 2008, but what economists call goods-producing industries, such as manufacturing, still have nearly 3 percent fewer employers than in pre-recession days.
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The Minnesota Management and Budget report shows that in the past two months, state revenues rose 4.4 percent more than expected just a month and a half ago. Of the $106 million increase, $60 million came from higher income tax receipts and $27 million in improved sales taxes.
Care dispute continues
A judge's ruling against an election of some Minnesota child care providers probably will not stop union attempts to organize them.
"We are very happy with the court's ruling, though this doesn't solve our future union issues," Cloquet's Heather Falk said. "It does give us more time, without an unfair union election looming, to educate and bring transparency to child care providers and legislators."
Dayton's executive order setting up a union election of child care providers who receive state subsidies was found unconstitutional because he bypassed the legislative process.
A spokeswoman says Dayton has not decided whether he will appeal. Even if he does not appeal, unions likely will be back.
"Pro-union child care providers forge ahead," read a news release headline from The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 5 reacting to the court decision.
Union spokeswoman Jennifer Munt stopped short of saying what kind of action could come next.
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"We're united to increase the quality of child care, to improve access for working parents and to stabilize our profession," Munt said. "No judge or politician can stop that."
Health care politics
Health care is a political issue that will not go away.
President Barack Obama's Affordable Health Care Act, something Republicans like to call Obamacare, is a major issue in races such as western Minnesota's 7th Congressional District, where Republican Lee Byberg challenges veteran Democratic U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson.
"Whether you want Obamacare to be the law of the land, or to repeal it, is a fundamental difference between Peterson's worldview and my own," Byberg said. "Obamacare is a fundamental assault on individual freedom and limited government, and it should be repealed."
Byberg criticized Peterson for not voting to repeal the health law.
"I think the Supreme Court will strike the law down," Peterson told the Marshall Independent. "Then what happens? That could change the whole debate."
The congressman said parts of the law are good, and it is not wise to repeal the entire act, because up to 50 million Americans would be left uninsured.
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Rebate scam resurfaces
The Minnesota Commerce Department warns that an old rebate scam among door-to-door contractors is back.
The department has received reports that insulation contractors saying they are affiliated with Rocky Mountain Insulation Corp. have taken rebates meant for homeowners.
"Before you sign on the dotted line or give anyone a nickel, you should ask questions first," Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman said. "Do not be pressured to sign away your rebate rights on the spot. Instead, learn more about the rebate program and your rights as a consumer by contacting your utility company or the Minnesota Department of Commerce."
The rebates in these cases are offered by Minnesota Energy Resources Co. for adding insulation.
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Don Davis reports for Forum Communications Co.
