'Rumps' to work for reform

Frank Moe sat in a folding chair outside Gov. Tim Pawlenty's office, head in his hands.

The freshman Democrat lawmaker looked up, ran his hand through his hair and looked every bit as frustrated as he was.

It was a half hour into Saturday, July 9. Legislators such as the Bemidji representative had been hanging around since the previous morning, hoping to hear legislative leaders and Pawlenty had reached an agreement on finishing the state budget. Once that happened, lawmakers immediately could restore funding to agencies that had been closed down for eight days and look forward to passing the final budget bills a few days hence.

But what Moe heard from a reporter was discouraging.

Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, DFL-Willmar, had just announced that his colleagues could not accept a provision in the agreement that all other leaders signed - a less-than-complete restoration of funds to the MinnesotaCare state subsidized health-insurance program for the working poor. Moe and other observers who crowded the hallway in front of Pawlenty's office - where negotiations once thought over were resuming - wondered if the Senate Democratic position would kill the deal.

Eventually, Pawlenty and Republicans accepted the DFL MinnesotaCare wording and the deal was announced 88 minutes after Moe looked up in disbelief. No doubt he filed the episode away for future reference.

Moe is one of several dozen middle-of-the-road legislators who met in "rump groups" trying to work out a budget compromise separate from leadership. The rump groups, named after a 17th century English Parliament that declared itself "the supreme power in this nation" about the time of King Charles I's beheading, discovered that drawing up a budget was more difficult than those out of power thought.

Every time a rump group - there were at least two of them - began to close in on an agreement, someone would throw cold water on it. Rump group members were less successful than legislative leaders.

However, the rump group experience is expected to lead to an effort before next year's Legislature convenes to draw up reforms in the system so legislating is not as rough as it has been in recent years.

Pawlenty may lend a hand.

"The Legislature has had no ability in nine of the last 11 years to finish the budget," he said recently. "I would take almost any reform at this point."

One of his favorite options seems to be stopping pay for legislators and the governor if they fail to finish their work.

Pawlenty wants to allow the public to initiate laws or overturn ones passed by lawmakers.

Another option Pawlenty says he would support is Gov. Jesse Ventura's plan to reduce the Legislature to a single body, known as unicameral. However, that would remove one of the checks on government and could lead to less scrutiny of bills, which the public soon would notice.

Short of reform, Pawlenty said, Minnesotans had better make sure they elect only the best to the Legislature.

"We need people who don't play as many games and don't make this their whole life role," the Republican governor said.

Davis is The Forum's Capitol correspondent in St. Paul. He can be reached at ddavis@forumcomm.com