The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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July 18, 2012

Our View: Keep special session focused

The Free Press

— Whenever there is a stated need for a special session of the Minnesota Legislature, a temptation arises to expand discussions past the original focus. It is generally best to keep the focus narrow, to avoid expanding the list of topics on the agenda.

In August, the Legislature plans to meet in one-day special session to deliver disaster relief to northeastern Minnesota communities seriously damaged in late June flooding. The introduction of other issues should be avoided. The need for a special session has arisen for one reason only. It has united all state legislators, on the right and on the left, on the proposition that timely assistance is earnestly required. It can be packaged quickly, but bipartisanship is off the table if the session is allowed to go off on undirected and politically-charged side avenues — avenues likely to turn a focused, productive meeting into a sideshow and an occasion for grandstanding.

The flood damage that occurred in affected areas should be attention-grabbing enough. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, along with state and local officials, continue estimating the extent of the disaster — which is not easy to do, because it covers a wide range. Gov. Mark Dayton has pegged public infrastructure costs at roughly $108 million, with the possibility of moving the price upwards to $150 million. The  Duluth area, by itself, may have sustained more than $100 million damage to utilities, streets, parks and trails. Small towns were also hard hit. Some of the worst damage was experienced in small towns downriver from Duluth. “Every single city and small town has received some amount of damage, some to a pretty significant extent,” reported a Carlton County official last week.

Leaders on both sides of the political aisle have said they expect to quickly do their business in special session. Dayton said himself, “We need to know, as close as we can, the totality of what is needed and for what purposes, so the session can come in and take care of everything in one day.”

Therefore, the requirement now is not for devising ways to bring in non-disaster topics into the mix, but to fully assess the economic damage so that assistance can be delivered as seamlessly as possible, and to the right places. Democratic and Republican leaders need to control members who might want to expand the agenda. There has been some talk, for instance, that individual legislators might want to use the session to continue the argument over the Voter ID amendment, as in who should control its wording.

Republican House Speaker Kurt Zellers shot that down quickly. “To bring that issue into that would be a disservice to those people that have had their lives completely disrupted…” he said.

We agree.

 

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