Dear Neighbor,
We are at the point of the legislative session where bills are now making their way through the initial stages of the process. Look for a complete rundown of bills I am working on in an upcoming email, but there are a couple I would like to touch on today since one has local impact and the other is linked to a timely news item.
First, the local bill: It was good to see BSU President Dr. Faith Hensrud at the Capitol to address the House Higher Education Committee regarding the bonding proposal which would replace Hagg-Sauer Hall with an academic learning center. I have authored H.F. 3063 to fund this project and it is up for consideration to be included in a capital investment bill.
As for the other bill, it has come to light that legal fees will consume $125 million of the state’s recent $850 million ground contamination lawsuit settlement with 3M. This lawyer bill is obscene and a greater share of those funds would be better used maximizing environmental cleanup efforts. In response, I am authoring a bill to help ensure lawsuit settlement funds awarded to the state reach the intended target.
My jaw just dropped when we were reviewing the settlement in our environment committee and someone just quick mentioned $125 million was going to law firms. Here they are, talking about an $850 million settlement and how it’s going to be a tight fit completing the cleanup job on that budget, yet lawyers are getting $125 million.
That is a whole lot of money that should be used for cleaning our groundwater, but instead it is being eaten up by other expenses. My bill would help mitigate Minnesota taxpayers’ exposure to legal fees during future state-based lawsuits by capping them at 2 percent of an award, or $100,000, whichever is higher.
I want to make it abundantly clear that my bill has nothing to do with the politics of the 3M case, nothing to do with that particular lawsuit itself. The same thing happened with tobacco money when $427 million of that settlement was skimmed off to pay lawyers instead of being used for cessation/treatment initiatives.
It needs to stop. Why are we spending an insane amount of taxpayer dollars to hire private law firms instead of having the state represent itself? We have a state attorney general’s office and hundreds of lawyers already in position.
This bill is in the very initial stages of the process, so stay tuned for more if and when it advances.
On a final note, Bemidji Day on the Hill is just around the corner – Wednesday, March 21. It always is fun to see the sea of red and black plaid at the Capitol on Bemidji Day and I look forward to another successful event as we advocate for the city and talk about issues that are important to us.
Until next time,
Matt