Almanac: At the Capitol

The big unexpected story out of the Capitol today is Senate hearings looking into a possible Northwest Airlines merger. Sen. James Metzen (DFL-South St. Paul) crashed Tarryl Clark's weekly briefing with reporters. He said he was just going to come and tell Bill Salisbury from the Pioneer Press but decided to talk to all of us because he said "this scares the dickens out of me." The NWA headquarters are in Metzen's district. He says Congressman Oberstar will also be attending hearings he's hoping to hold next week at the Capitol. Metzen, who's the Senate President, says "we'll ask a lot of tough questions." Metzen will be live on Almanac tonight.

The House isn't jumping on board yet on the hearings, but they are concerned. Speaker Anderson Kelliher said "the loss of a hub would be dramatic; the job loss could be very severe." The governor just weighed in too, sending a letter to Northwest and Delta's CEOs. He reminded the airlines that the state gave $445 million in loans and leases and said "we trust and expect these commitments will be honored." Pawlenty also went on to say that "we are willing to make additional commitment to keep the hub at full operation and the headquarters in Minnesota."

In shockingly speedy fashion the House and Senate have passed a constitutional amendment dedicating 3/8 of 1% of a sales tax increase to the outdoors and arts. The Senate debated for just 45 minutes and the House for just an hour (believe me that's fast) and bi-partisanly passed the bill 85-46 and 46-17. What's interesting is support for this wasn't a party thing. Dems and GOPers both voted for and against it. Some don't want to budget through the constitution, some don't like the sales tax increase, some don't like the arts and parks being added on. While much of the opposition in the House was Republican, many Northern Minnesota lawmakers voted against it — apparently they have had it with local sales tax increases.

It's amazing that this has had so much support from so many different people for so many years and it took a decade to pass. But amending the constitutional is a big deal. We'll see if voters are willing to raise their own taxes. It may have helped that House and Senate leaders Sertich and Pogemiller took over the bills to finally move them to the floor. The governor does not have to sign a constitutional amendment, it goes straight to the voters. But note Sertich's red rose for the special occasion. Here's the quote to match from supporters' press release: "With love in the air on this Valentine’s Day, the state Legislature passed some on to Minnesota’s natural resources and cultural heritage as it approved the landmark Great Outdoors and Heritage Amendment as its first piece of business."