Daily Digest: The clock is ticking
Good morning and welcome to Wednesday. Here's the Digest.
1. Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders are still arguing about budget negotiations. House Speaker Kurt Daudt says Dayton is wasting time by refusing to engage in budget bill negotiations this week. Daudt, R-Zimmerman, met privately Tuesday with Dayton and Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka to discuss budget matters. There are less than four weeks left in the 2017 session. After the meeting, Daudt told reporters that the governor still insists on waiting until House and Senate negotiators resolve their differences before he joins the talks. Daudt made it clear that he doesn’t like the governor’s approach. Dayton said his position has been clear, and that the Legislature has to agree on its plan before he can negotiate. (MPR News)
2. Nearly a decade after the collapse of a staggering $3.7 billion fraud scheme engineered by businessman Tom Petters, Minnesota lawmakers could rewrite rules governing who must fork over money to victims. A measure contained in a wide-ranging state budget bill would limit the recovery of investment income earned by charitable or religious organizations that accepted gifts from Petters or his associates. The law change is backed by some charitable foundations confronted by claims from a court-appointed receiver. But the receiver, Minneapolis attorney and former white-collar prosecutor Doug Kelley, warns that it could take $35 million off the table. (MPR News)
3. Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Keith Downey released a letter to a party committee questioning the judgment and competency of Deputy Chairman Chris Fields just days ahead of the election for party officers in St. Cloud Saturday. Downey is not running for reelection and is widely considered to be a likely candidate for governor. But the letter, which is supported by voluminous attachments, makes clear Downey does not want Fields -- who is running for party chair -- to be his successor. It details what it calls inappropriate correspondence and public statements and failed attempts at organizing and fundraising. (Star Tribune)
4. The St. Paul school board unanimously approved a three-year contract with new superintendent Joe Gothard Tuesday night. The contract includes a $232,000 salary, slightly more than previous superintendent Valeria Silva's base salary of $213,026. The contract is expected to be signed later in the week, and the full document will be public then. Gothard will face some challenges in his new role, including a projected $27 million budget gap for next year. Recent enrollment projections for St. Paul also came in lower than expected, with losses forecast over the next 10 years. (MPR News)
5. A judge in San Francisco on Tuesday temporarily blocked President Trump’s efforts to starve localities of federal funds when they limit their cooperation with immigration enforcement, a stinging rejection of his threats to make so-called sanctuary cities fall in line. The judge, William H. Orrick of United States District Court, wrote that the president had overstepped his powers with his January executive order on immigration by tying billions of dollars in federal funding to immigration enforcement. Judge Orrick said only Congress could place such conditions on spending. (New York Times)
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