Reporting on State Politics and Government
Reporting on State Politics and Government
Capitol View Digest reporting on state and politics and government
| | The Daily Digest for August 15, 2019 | | Posted at 6:15 a.m. by Mike Mulcahy |
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Good morning, and welcome to Thursday. Can you believe the State Fair begins a week from today? Here's the Digest. 1. More pleas for help on insulin but still no action. Advocates pushing for emergency access to insulin sent a clear message to Minnesota lawmakers on Wednesday, Aug. 14: get it done. The human toll of delaying the approval of the program that would provide a free short-term supply of insulin to Minnesotans with Type 1 diabetes who couldn't afford it is mounting, they said, and it will continue to grow with no legislative intervention. The deaths of two young men who were unable to afford insulin and rationed their supplies weighed on lawmakers who met at the Capitol to consider a path forward for the plan. And there appeared to be bipartisan understanding that compromise would be necessary to get the bill moving in the Legislature. But exactly what that would look like and who would have to give before the governor could call a special session to take up the measure remained unclear. “Stop the bickering and just say, 'Let’s just get this done,'" Quinn Nystrom, a Baxter, Minn., advocate living with Type 1 diabetes, said. "This isn’t a red or a blue issue. This is a life or death issue and it can’t wait until next February." It was a refrain that came up again and again during the conversation as Minnesotans with Type 1 diabetes, their family members and others shared their concerns about the trend of the deaths carrying on without legislative action. Lawmakers earlier this year considered but ultimately sunk a similar proposal that would've charged insulin manufacturers a fee to fund the emergency insulin program. That bill was named after Alec Smith, a 26 year old from Minneapolis who died in 2017 of complications of rationing his insulin. (Forum News Service)
2. Court rules body cavity search was unconstitutional. The Minnesota Supreme Court overturned a drug possession conviction for a Minneapolis man Wednesday after concluding that a forced body cavity search violated his constitutional rights to dignity, personal privacy and bodily integrity. The search of Guntallwon Brown’s rectum while he was strapped down and sedated is a violation of the Fourth Amendment, the court ruled in a 21-page opinion written by Justice Paul Thissen and signed by four colleagues. Justice Anne McKeig dissented, saying the search was reasonable. A Hennepin County District Court jury convicted Brown in early 2017 of fifth-degree drug possession. He was sentenced to 90 days of home confinement and ordered to take a drug test. Before trial, his lawyer unsuccessfully sought to suppress the 2.9 grams of cocaine found in a plastic bag in Brown’s body. The defendant appealed that decision. The Court of Appeals concluded that the search was reasonable, but the state Supreme Court disagreed and ruled the evidence of the illegal search to be inadmissible at trial. The high court ordered that Brown be given a new trial, although that now seems unlikely because the drugs were the main evidence against him. The state high court’s analysis used a U.S. Supreme Court balancing test from a 1985 case that said the “reasonableness of a surgical intrusions beneath the skin” is determined by weighing an individual’s interests in privacy and security against society’s interests in conducting the procedure. (Star Tribune)
3. Ellison sued over lawyer working on fellowship program. A non-profit Minnesota law firm is suing DFL state Attorney General Keith Ellison over the arrangement that brought a particular lawyer into his office in June. The lawyer, Pete Sudo, is working for Ellison under a fellowship program with the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center at New York University’s School of Law. The center was funded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg in 2017 to address climate issues. Similar fellowships underway in other states have also prompted legal challenges. “This isn’t a fishing expedition. We know these lawyers are there,” said Doug Seaton, president of the Upper Midwest Law Center. Seaton’s client is Energy Policy Advocates, a nonprofit organization based in Washington state. During a state Capitol news conference Wednesday, Seaton said the lawsuit filed in Ramsey County seeks to illuminate a connection that he contends is improper and unethical. Ellison said the lawsuit is without merit. He said his office has already provided the plaintiffs with all the publicly-available data that was requested. The requests were made two weeks ago, according to copies of emails provided by the attorney general’s office. Ellison also defended his participation in the fellowship program. “Minnesotans are living with the effects of pollution, environmental injustice, and climate change every day, and they expect an attorney general who enforces environmental law," Ellison wrote. "My office is happy to accept the assistance of New York University law school to help me advance the cause of environmental stewardship. We can legally accept their help and we are honored do so." (MPR News)
4. DNR staffers raise concerns about logging plan. Wildlife managers from across Minnesota say Department of Natural Resources leaders are mismanaging the upcoming timber harvest in a way that risks altering state forest lands for the animals that depend on them and for people who recreate there. DNR leaders stand by their work on the sustainable timber harvest analysis, which guides the next decade of logging on Minnesota state lands. But critics say the agency’s plan could damage certain habitats and worsen invasive species concerns, largely because of too much clear-cutting of forests. The new plan calls for at least an 8.75 percent increase in amount of timber put for harvest. State wildlife area managers, who are tasked with protecting and enhancing habitats, say the DNR’s analysis leans too much on the land they oversee and doesn’t account for the best available science. A group of 28 DNR wildlife managers, assistant wildlife managers and scientists outlined their concerns last month to Commissioner Sarah Strommen and Assistant Commissioner Bob Meier in a letter obtained by MPR News. The letter authors “do not believe it is scientifically honest or transparent to say that the 10-year timber plan is ‘beneficial to wildlife’” — especially on wildlife management areas, they write. (MPR News)
5. Bernie Sanders headed to Minnesota. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, winner of Minnesota’s 2016 caucuses, will bring his current Democratic presidential bid to the state in August. Details of the visit aren’t finalized, but Sanders plans an aggressive play for the state. He “is not only going to win Minnesota in the primary, we’re going to win in the general election, and that’s all because of the largest volunteer base in the country,” said spokesperson Bill Neidhardt. Sanders’ visit and a St. Paul stop Monday by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren signal a new phase in the countdown to Minnesota’s March 3 primary. More than a dozen states vote on that date, dubbed Super Tuesday because of its likely impact on the Democratic race. They are the first top-tier candidates to target the state. The addition of it to their schedules suggests that they want to build support here in case Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is no longer a factor by the primary. (Star Tribune) | |
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