Almanac: At the Capitol

1. A statewide smoking ban. Enough of this dilly-dallying already. Arizona's got it. California's got it. Colorado's got it. Connecticut's got it. Delaware's got it. Hawaii's got it. Maine's got it. Massachusetts's got it. New York's got it. Ohio's got it. Rhode Island's got it. Washington's got it.

Heck, even France, home of the Gauloise, is gonna have it!

When is the Minnesota Legislature finally gonna "get it"?


2. Guaranteed health care for all kids. Well, maybe it won't be put into place in '07, because it will take some doing to make the transition. But we can always hope!


3. Find a way for motorists to pay for roads. Makes sense, don't ya think? Many Republicans think so. Many Democrats think so. It seems only the Governor doesn't think so. Why? Who knows?

Note to Legislature: Pass a gas tax increase, make it annually adjustable according to inflation, send it to the Guv, let him veto it, override the veto. Just think: Five easy steps and you won't have to deal with it for at least another 10 years.


4. Freeze higher ed tuition for a year, then tell the public institutions to start cleaning up their own act. There's a lot of inefficiency. I know. I've taught in higher ed for nearly 20 years. There are also a lot of hard-working people there who have some great ideas on how their institutions can be more cost-conscious. Put all those brains to work!


5. Forget the free tuition business for the top 25% of high school students going on to Minnesota's colleges and universities. It'll create far more problems than it will solve. I don't have the space to explain here, but if you're interested, read this article. (P.S., most educators agree with me.)

The House chucked out civility debating its first big bill providing tax relief and federal conformity:

Rep. Seifert: "The people of Minnesota are wandering in the desert of high taxes."

Rep. Rukavina: "You're wandering in a desert seeing mirages, dollar signs that aren't there."

Rep. Sertich: "So starts the food fight and the 10-second sound bites."

Gov. Pawlenty announced his final commissioner appointment today and it's not Steve Sviggum. Many are shocked that the former House Speaker did not get a big appointment for his former colleague and close friend who took some big hits for the governor. It's hard to imagine Sviggum toiling away in the minority. Here's the news release:

St. Paul — Tim Pawlenty today appointed former State Auditor Pat Anderson as Commissioner of the Department of Employee Relations (DOER), filling the last remaining Cabinet-level position in the Pawlenty Administration.