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| Date: | June 21, 2011 | | Contact Name: | Susan Closmore | | Contact Phone: | 651-296-5712 | | Contact Email: | susan.closmore@senate.mn | | For Immediate Release | |
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| Senator Warren Limmer Doubles Efforts to Head Off Shutdown in District Court Petition Seeks to Uphold Constitutional Authority of Legislature |
St. Paul- Following Monday’s court filing seeking an expedited hearing before the Minnesota Supreme Court to uphold the constitutional budget authority of the legislature, Senator Warren Limmer (R- Maple Grove) joined Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson), Sean Nienow (R-Cambridge), and Roger Chamberlain (R-Shoreview) in filing a petition Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court in an attempt to head off a shutdown of state government functions and force Governor Mark Dayton to call for an immediate legislative Special Session.
Over the last week Governor Dayton petitioned the district court to appoint a mediator to be appointed for the purposes of creating a budget, which would side-step the legislature from having the authority to approve state spending appropriations. At nearly the same time, Attorney General Lori Swanson sought authority from the district courts to establish “core functions” of government and ultimately giving the courts the sole authority to define what the core function of government is and how much money to spend.
“This is nothing more than a power grab,” said Senator Warren Limmer, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Our state constitution clearly defines the role of these executive branch offices and specifically states that ‘no money shall be paid out of the treasury of this state except in pursuance of an appropriation by law (which requires legislative action)’.”
“Our purpose as interveners is to oppose the petitions of the Governor and Attorney General,” explained Senator Sean Nienow, “which usurp the authority of the legislature. We are also asking for Ramsey District Court Judge Kathleen Gearin to recuse herself due to her past rulings of similar cases. In addition, we seek a Writ of Mandamus which would recognize primarily, the Governor’s proper constitutional authority and whether he is fulfilling his responsibilities of his office. Since neither the Governor nor the Attorney General has the constitutional authority to unilaterally create a budget without the approval of the legislature, his only constitutional course of action is to call the legislature back to a Special Session, which he is refusing to do.”
“It is not in the best interests of the people of Minnesota to allow the Governor to be an obstructionist to the spending reforms the voters called for in the last election,” said Senator Limmer. “The move by the Attorney General, much less the Governor, to seek power far beyond their constitutional job description is very dangerous.”
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