Hold On To Your Wallets

So I get this email today......

Minnesota Legislature to reconvene Feb. 12
The Minnesota Legislature is scheduled to return for the second year of the 85th session at noon, Feb. 12.
According to the State Constitution, the Legislature is allowed 120 days over the biennium in which to get its work completed. Last year, it took 75 legislative days, leaving 45 days for this year's work.
Legislators must complete their work by the first Monday after the third Saturday in May, or May 19. Traditionally, the second year of the biennium is commonly known as the "bonding year" and is reserved for consideration of investmentin capital projects. Local units of government, higher education systems and state agencies have submitted proposals totaling more than $3billion. However, to stay within debt service guidelines, the general obligation bonding cap is likely to be around $965 million, an amount the governor has proposed. Once the February Economic Forecast is released, the bonding number could be adjusted.
House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL-Mpls) and House Majority Leader Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm) have announced committee deadlines in the House. They are:
March 14 - committees act favorably on bills in the house oforigin;
March 19 - committees act favorably on bills or companions that met the first deadline in the other body; and
March 28 - committees act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.
Committees are to meet as scheduled in the afternoon of the first dayof session. However, no committee meetings will be held before 3 p.m.Feb. 13 due to Gov. Tim Pawlenty's State of the State Address in St.Cloud.
An Easter Break is tentatively scheduled from 5 p.m. March 19 to noon March 25.
Information about the legislative process and the Minnesota House of Representatives can be accessed through the House Web site atwww.house.mn.

Well now that got me to thinking.....for you see I seem to recall quite a few committee meetings that have happened over the course of the summer and almost daily after the 35W Bridge Collapse! They have met to discuss adding a special council (to investigate the bridge collapse), they met to discuss health care access (with a focus on universal healthcare), they met to discuss natural resources, they met to discuss energy development, they met to discuss ending poverty, they met to discuss a myriad of other issues. The Minnesota HOUSE conducted 240 committee meetings over the course of the "off session". That averages out to 34.28 meetings PER MONTH! And they are not in session!!!!!

If, as the email suggests, the Legislature is required by law to only meet 120 days per bienium, then why are we paying them per diem for the number of days that they are legally bound to be in session. If they are not in session and they choose to meet - fine - it's on YOUR DIME.