Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Sen. Greg Clausen voted in favor of same-sex marriage legislation on Monday at the Capitol.
The love that committed same-sex couples share is "really no different than the love I have for my wife of 40 years," Eagan's District 51 Sen. Jim Carlson (DFL), told his fellow senators on Monday. Carlson spoke on the Senate floor in favor of a bill legalizing same-sex marriage on Monday afternoon and, like other legislators, shared a very personal account of his acceptance of same-sex relationships. The Senate, which took up the issue shortly after noon on Monday, voted 37-30 to approve the legislation after roughly four hours of spirited debate regarding personal and religious freedoms. The bill passed the Minnesota House on a 75-59 vote last week. Gov. Mark Dayton announced that he plans to sign the bill into law at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, …
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
The Minnesota House of Representatives takes up the bill at noon on Thursday, May 9, 2013.
Roughly six months after Minnesotans struck down a statewide constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, the Minnesota House and Senate seem poised to legalize gay marriage. House Speaker and District 61B Rep. Paul Thissen (DFL) said Democrats have secured enough votes to push Clark's bill through, according to a report in the Pioneer Press. If the bill passes in the House on Thursday, Senate legislators may vote on it as early as Monday. If the measure, sponsored by District 62A Rep. Karen Clark (DFL), is approved, Minnesota would become the 12th state in the nation to legalize gay marriage. On Tuesday, Delaware became the 11th state to approve it. Many of Dakota County's current crop of legislators have been outspoken in their …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The Apple Valley senator's proposal to fund all-day kindergarten is included as part of the large E-12 omnibus bill.
District 57 Sen. Greg Clausen (DFL) says he has his constituents' backing when it comes to his support of a $15.7 billion education omnibus bill—which calls for roughly $356 million in new schools spending. Clausen's own all-day kindergarten proposal accounts for roughly $130 million of that spending. The proposal, included in the larger omnibus package, does not mandate that school districts offer all-day kindergarten, but sets up funding formulas for those that wish to implement the initiative. Under the bill's provisions, a all-day kindergarten program must have at least 850 instruction hours in a school year. The omnibus bill, passed in both the Minnesota Senate and House, is currently working its way through conference committees. “…
Monday, April 29, 2013
The proposal was incorporated into a $15.7 billion education omnibus bill that was approved on Thursday.
District 57 Sen. Greg Clausen's (DFL) push for all-day kindergarten funding paid off late last week. Clausen's kindergarten funding bill, introduced in January, was incorporated into the Senate's $15.7 billion education E-12 omnibus bill,ored by District 43 Sen. Chuck Wiger (DFL). The bill passed the Senate on Thursday on a 35-28 vote. The omnibus bill calls for roughly $356 million in new education spending—and Clausen's all-day kindergarten proposal accounts for $130 million of that total, according to a news release issued by Clausen's office. “This is a great day for Minnesota’s students and the future of our state,” said Sen. Clausen. “After a decade of cuts to Minnesota schools this investment is desperately needed. All-day K will …
Monday, April 8, 2013
Each week, Patch takes a closer look at the activities of Dakota and Rice Counties' legislators as part of our Capitol Review.
Want year-round schooling? District 57 Sen. Greg D. Clausen (DFL) believes the question should be put to a district-wide referendum vote. Clausen authored a measure that would allow a school board to implement year-round schooling as long as it has the approval of its voters at a referendum called by the board. Districts would still be required to have a minimum of 935 hours of instruction for first- through sixth-grade students and 1,020 hours for seventh- through 12-grade students. In other political news around the county: District 20B Rep. David Bly (DFL) has joined a crowd of Minnesota legislators in their support for a bill prohibiting law enforcement from using unmanned aircraft in to gather evidence or other information, with …
Monday, March 25, 2013
Want to know what your Dakota and Rice County legislators are up to? Check out Patch's weekly legislative review to find out.
The financial plight of Minnesota college graduates has District 57 Sen. Greg D. Clausen (DFL) worried. Clausen is working on a bill that would provide a refundable credit of up to $4,000 to graduates from two- or four-year programs. The credit would be earmarked for payments on the principal and interest of student loans. “One message I hear from my constituents is that our college students need help with the increasing cost of higher education,” Clausen said in a news release. "The cost of tuition coupled with the downturn in the economy and job market is a serious cause for concern." In other political news around the county: It's not legislative action, but lack of action, that defines Northfield's Capitol Review this week. Early in …
Friday, February 1, 2013
Implementation of a full-day kindergarten, as proposed by Sen. Greg Clausen of Apple Valley/Rosemount, is called a "necessity."
Like us on Facebook | Get our newsletter | Follow us on Twitter | Start a blog Deerwood Elementary School Principal Miles Haugen is deeply concerned by the achievement gap he sees between half-day kindergarten students and their counterparts enrolled in a fee-based, full-day program. On Thursday, Haugen joined School District 196 Director of Elementary Education Julie Olson and other school officials to advocate for a bill that would provide state funding for the implementation of voluntary, full-day kindergarten in schools across Minnesota. The bill, introduced Thursday, was authored by Senate District 57 Sen. Greg Clausen (DFL), who represents Apple Valley and Rosemount. Click here to read the full text of the bill. Haugen, Olson and …
J. Ewing
3:24 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
You can't put civil rights up for a vote, so the fact it was done this way tells me there is no such thing as a "right to marry," and there isn't. There cannot be. Civil marriage is a legal construct created by government and is only permitted to those who meet the qualifications. You have no more right to a marriage license than you do to a fishing license. You must be of a certain age, etc. gay… more ›