Hello from the State Capitol,
Both the Minnesota House and Senate have now reached the third committee deadline, which is the time frame in which any major finance bill must have been approved in a committee. As the legislature must set a budget this session, and approve new spending within each area of state government, it is clearly an important deadline.
Following the Easter/Passover break, I expect most finance bills to move quickly off the House floor and budget negotiations to begin with the Minnesota Senate.
AGREEMENT REACHED IN JUDICIARY FINANCE
In the committee of which I co-chair, the House judiciary finance committee, we passed a bipartisan spending bill onto the Ways and Means Committee. With a $6 billion budget deficit looming for the next budget cycle, each committee is tasked with doing its part to help right-size government spending. I believe this is a fair bill as we reduced spending in certain areas, prioritized other areas, and increased transparency within the system.
ATTORNEY GENERAL ELLISON IN HOT WATER?
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison owes Minnesotans some answers after an audio recording found Ellison in conversation with criminal defendants involved in the federal "Feeding Our Future" trial.
As stated in the link above, Ellison “can clearly be heard pledging his support to individuals who would soon become his family’s campaign donors and later Feeding Our Future criminal defendants.
His recorded statements flatly contradict his contemporaneous public statements and raise uncomfortable questions about the intersection between political fundraising and constituent services.”
You’ll recall Minnesotans lost $250 million in the Feeding Our Future fraud, and its executive director was recently found guilty of her participation in this scam.
You may find it interesting, or curious depending on your view, that earlier this session Democrats voted to block legislation that would give taxpayers more transparency into the operations of the Attorney General’s office. It would have made more information about AG business available to the public.
Ellison’s office was criticized by two former senior members of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office in late 2022 for its handling of the case and failure to use broad investigative powers to collect bank records and other financial documents well before federal authorities got involved. Ellison did not launch an investigation into Feeding our Future until February, 2022, two months after his meeting with the defendants.
This entire story reeks of corruption, and many of us have more questions than answers. I join my colleagues in demanding Attorney General Ellison’s office immediately release all public documents and correspondence related to his meetings and conversations with these individuals, and explain to the public why he felt it was necessary or appropriate to meet with them, let alone offer the support of his office.