Issue Position: Legislative Dysfunction

Issue Position

First, the legislature must address its own dysfunctional processes. The Minnesota State Constitution requires that all bills be confined to a single subject which is expressed in the bill's title. However, the State Legislature has not observed this provision and the State Supreme Court has not enforced it. This year, the legislature's departure from this rule reached a new low, with almost all policy and budgeting provisions being packed into a single bill which was almost a thousand pages in length. Gov. Dayton was right to veto this grossly unconstitutional bill. As a result, many provisions with broad support, including legislation to improve the regulation of assisted living facilities; common sense gun safety provisions such as universal background checks and a prohibition on the sale of military assault rifles and bump stocks; and the "hands-free" bill to prohibit the use of handheld cell phones while driving, were not passed into law. Former House Speaker and new State Supreme Court Justice Paul Thissen has suggested that this problem be addressed by amending the Rules governing the conduct of the State Legislature to enforce the "single subject rule". My first action upon filing to run for the State House was to obtain a copy of the current House Rules so that I could figure out how best to implement Justice Thissen's suggestion at the beginning of the next legislative session.

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