Almanac: At the Capitol

Gov. Pawlenty's veto pen was active again as he vetoed several interesting items, but word arrived as the weekend began so they got little coverage. Deadlines have moved up for a lot of news organizations. At the same time MSM interest in State Capitol news dwindles. We tried to ask when a veto message might arrive to plan ahead, but got no response from the governor's office.

Anyway, for those who missed it, the governor vetoed a transportation bill containing a REAL ID opt-out for the state. For the record that's the second transportation bill the governor vetoed and a third and maybe even fourth one could be coming too. Pawlenty said the "federal government's response is not complete or finalized. Until it is, we should be careful not to unduly restrict our ability to at least begin preparations for implementing REAL I.D." As I indicated last week, there's bi-partisan support for this bill against the governor and led by libertarian or conservative Republicans. The question is if they'll negotiate a new deal or attempt an override led by conservative Republicans.

Pawlenty also vetoed a resolution urging congress to end trade and travel restrictions to Cuba. Again he deferred to the federal government saying "our federal government should address foreign policy matters, not state legislators." Many online have speculated this move is to curry favor with McCain.

Finally, the governor also vetoed a bill granting political subdivisions authority to give grants to nonprofits. Pawlenty says he believes in supporting charitable organizations, but local elected officials should focus on lowering property taxes and give the money to people to decide.

Yes, that's Rep. Tom Rukavina jumping on the lap of DNR Commissioner Mark Holsten. They were on Almanac: At the Capitol this week to debate a new state park on Lake Vermilion. And debate they did--finally! Frankly those of us who host, book, produce and watch local TV shows about politics have been a bit frustrated that politicians have decided to act too nice. They fight on the floor. They squabble in committee. They toss barbs in press conferences. Then when we put them on live television they decide to behave. Now there's nothing wrong with politicians behaving, but when they lack emotion and fail to engage each other in debate, they can fail to engage the voter.

Holsten and Rukavina gave us the best debate of the year on our show. It was clear from Holsten's comments that Vermilion is important to the governor, very important. It will no doubt be a bargaining chip in end-of-session negotiations. Perhaps swap Central Corridor for Vermilion? Rukavina has always been one of the best debaters in the legislature. His give and take with former Representative Pawlenty was legendary. Holsten being a former House member himself added to the fun and playfulness that made the show a blast.

Also, it was a treat to have former U.S. Senator Dave Durenberger unveil his lifetime achievement award from the Parks and Trails Council. I always say there's nothing more endearing and honest than a former politician and Durenberger is truly a statesman. He gave a terrific interview, commenting that the annual or perennial sessions are a set back from the old days when he thought lawmakers accomplished as much meeting only every other year.

Here's what you need to know about soon to be new MnDOT Commissioner Tom Sorel: He comes from outside of MnDOT and he has a technical background as a civil engineer. Both of those facts are politically important, especially after a bridge collapse. Interesting that the governor's office went to Sorel instead of the other way around. Sorel sounds like he'll be pro-transit and light rail. He was the USDOT liaison to the Salt Lake City Olympic games and led the effort to build "infrastructure" including mass transit. I asked him if he'd advocate to get Central Corridor back on track and he wasn't ready to commit to that. He did drop the pro-transit term "multi-modal" several times.

Frequent MnDOT critic Senate Transportation Chair Steve Murphy was satisfied with the pick. Murph said he was "very impressed" with Sorel's comments about transit and he thought Sorel "left the door open" to Central Corridor. Murphy spoke with federal Transportation Chair Jim Oberstar who is also "confident" with this selection. Murphy will hold confirmation hearings, but it won't be anytime soon. Pawlenty and Murphy gave great praise to acting commissioner Bob McFarlin who attended the press conference in "support" of the appointment. McFarlin was one of three people interviewed for the job. Sen. Murphy said he would have been "comfortable" with McFarlin as well.

The specter of special session to deal with the Northwest Airlines merger has already been raised this morning at the Capitol. In a conference committee dealing with the budget deficit, Senate Finance Chair Dick Cohen said since details of the merger won't emerge for weeks or months Gov. Pawlenty may need to "call us back into special session." Cohen went on to say he's no fan of special sessions but he wants to "do what we can to limit the harm of a merger."

Employment and Economic Development Commissioner Dan McElroy responded that it's too early to know if a special session would be necessary, but the governor will "advocate for Minnesota workers" and if the deal doesn't benefit the state "he will oppose it." McElroy said a special session has not been discussed but the administration will "keep it in mind." The other thing to keep in mind is that all 134 house members are up for re-election so they really don't want to sit in a special session all summer when they could be on the campaign trail. And special sessions tend to open up a can of worms, bonding projects and other issues that don't get done during regular session could pop up too.

When I asked NWA's Doug Steenland about his obligations to the state, he said the new Delta could either repay the state $245 million dollars or do what he has been talking to state leaders about: renegotiate a new deal. NWA is breaking one of the three requirements of the deal, moving the headquarters. Steenland said they could strike a new compact on the hub status and employment. Can you say special session? How about all summer long? I can't imagine this would be an easy or quick deal to strike.