Special Session Is a Waste Of Time, Money PDF Print E-mail
Based on this Strib article, it's obvious that Gov. Pawlenty should avoid calling a special session. Here's just one reason for not calling a special session:
Lobbyists already have been wandering the Capitol halls and hitting the BlackBerrys to push their pet issues. The lobbyist representing bars and bowling alleys, for instance, is urging legislators to consider resurrecting a bill to allow for electronic pulltabs, dangling the promise of more than $800 million in revenues as a way to side step a gas-tax increase.
Why on God's green earth should we give these lobbyists another shot at legislators? It isn't that I think these lobbyists are evil or anything. It's just that I know that these lobbyists are perfectly willing to use the bridge collapse and the flooding to get their bills passed.

That's just one reason why Gov. Pawlenty shouldn't call a special session. Another reason for not calling a special session became apparent Saturday night. That afternoon, I spotted Drew's post about Gov. Pawlenty's constitutional authority in emergencies. Here's what Drew posted about that:
12.36 GOVERNOR'S POWERS TO FAST PROVIDE EMERGENCY AID.
(a) The governor, during an emergency or disaster and notwithstanding any other law, may:
(1) enter into contracts and incur obligations necessary to combat the disaster by protecting the health and safety of persons and the safety of property and by providing emergency assistance to the victims of the disaster; and
(2) exercise the powers vested by this subdivision in the light of the exigencies of the disaster without compliance with time-consuming procedures and formalities prescribed by law pertaining to:
(i) the performance of public work;
(ii) entering into contract;
(iii) incurring of obligations;
(iv) employment of temporary workers;
(v) rental of equipment;
(vi) purchase of supplies and materials, for example, but not limited to, publication of calls for bids;
(vii) provisions of the Civil Service Act and rules;
(viii) provisions relating to low bids; and
(ix) requirements for the budgeting and allotment of funds.
(b) All contracts must be in writing, executed on behalf of the state by the governor or a person delegated by the governor in writing so to do, and must be promptly filed with the commissioner of finance, who shall forthwith encumber funds appropriated for the purposes of the contract for the full contract liability and certify thereon that the encumbrance has been made.
This section of the Minnesota Constitution says that Gov. Pawlenty has the authority to do whatever is necessary to get the recoveries started. The only question that remained was whether there was enough money to get the job done. Saturday night, I got that question answered. According to the Minnesota House Fiscal staff, there is almost "$350 million in the Cash Flow account."

In other words, a special session is a waste of taxpayers' money. We should remember that the operating expense of a special session is estimated at $20,000 per day. Obviously, that doesn't include the cost of legislation passed and signed.

True to form, Democrats are ladling on the hyperbole:
"Avoiding a special session at this time would be a political move, not in the best interest of Minnesotans and our children who will be riding in buses on our state's roads in just two weeks," wrote Sen. Terri Bonoff, DFL-Minnetonka, in a newspaper commentary last week.
It's worth asking why Sen. Bonoff and her Senate colleagues didn't push for more funding of bridge repair. The DFL's transportation priorities during the regular session could be summarized this way: Increase taxes, build more transit lines and add lanes to existing highways to alleviate road congestion. 'Mundane' things like road and bridge repair weren't on their radar.

That doesn't mean that the DFL is to blame for the I-35 bridge collapse. It simply means that their transportation priorities are screwed up.

Sen. Bonoff's quote uses the time-tested DFL tactic of playing on people's heartstrings to sell their agenda. It doesn't make for a compelling argument. The Strib article includes some useful information, though it includes some nonsense, too:
Pawlenty does have broad executive powers to respond to the emergencies himself, even without input from the Legislature. But a special session could have advantages from his point of view.

The Legislature passed a transportation bill with a gas-tax increase in it earlier this year. Pawlenty vetoed it. The Legislature could return in regular session in February and pass a new transportation bill with a gas-tax increase of their choosing, confronting Pawlenty with a politically risky choice.

But with everyone under pressure to act sooner in special session, Pawlenty might be able to negotiate the sort of "reasonable gas-tax increase" that he said he wanted in a private letter to legislative leaders last week. Signing that now might put him in a better position to resist proposals for larger tax increases next year.
Passing a gas tax is only part of the equation. As we saw repeatedly, Gov. Pawlenty vetoed the DFL's tax increases. Meanwhile, Marty Seifert kept the House GOP caucus united. Because they stayed united, there were able to thwart the DFL's attempts to override Gov. Pawlenty's vetoes. As a result, the GOP scored a decisive victory.

As for taxes, that's winning issue for the GOP, both at the federal and state levels. Vetoing tax increases isn't a "politically risky choice", as the Strib suggests, especially if it's a gas tax increase. As Michael so aptly pointed out here, Minnesotans don't take kindly to a gas tax increase:
According to new KSTP/Survey USA Poll, 57% of Minnesotans do not support a gas tax increase for roads and bridges. 38% support an increase, while 5% are not sure. Of the 38% that support a gas tax increase, 47% think it should be raised less than 5 cents.
The truth is that the House GOP caucus is united on the issue of tax increases, partially because Tony Sertich and the House DFL employed a 'my-way-or-the-highway' approach rather than actually working with the GOP from time to time. A strong bond formed as a result of having to stick together because that's what was needed to keep from getting trampled. That bond won't unravel easily, though some RINOs are 'stepping up'.