LISTEN BELOW as Rep. John Lesch and reporters Mike McIntee and Marty Owings take stock of the the ruling’s fallout.

Our scheduled topic was preempted this week as TruthToTell beat all other local media to the punch talking about the Minnesota State Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision nullifying Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s attempt to cut state spending using unallotment. The majority (Chief Justice Eric Magnuson with Justices Alan PagePaul Anderson and Helen Meyer; dissenting were Justices G. Barry AndersonLorie Skjerven Gildea, and Christopher Dietzen) upheld the Ramsey County District Court in ruling that Pawlenty had, indeed, exceeded his authority in unalloting funds for programs he otherwise approved in the original budget, thus circumventing the Constitutionally guaranteed legislative budgeting process.

Listen to this wide-ranging discussion of the fallout from that ruling on state politics and governance from here on out as all sides struggle with lingering deficits and a governor (backed by Republicans in both houses) who refuses absolutely to consider revenue-raising as part of the solution in this last year of his last term in the office and off to campaign for President of the US.

TTT’s ANDY DRISCOLL and LYNNELL MICKELSEN moderate the conversation with a key House member and two reporters who’ve been following the case from inside and outside the courtrooms since Ramsey District Judge Kathleen Gearin ruled against Pawlenty and in favor of six threatened poverty program recipients and their legal aid attorneys.

[Our scheduled discussion on threats to the openness of the Open Meeting Law will come at a later date. House File 2958 (and it’s Senate companion-SF2518) originally redefining ”public body” to exclude all advisory committees and task forces at all levels to adhere to the Open Meeting Law is now in the House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee after passing out of the House Government Operations and Technology Committee with Rep. Michael Paymar’s (DFL-St. Paul) last-minute amendment that “re-broadens” the definition of a public body to include all panels, including citizen task forces and advisory committees, especially those created at the initiative of local governments and school districts.]

Guests:

• REP JOHN LESCH (DFL-St. Paul) – Chair, House Crime Victims/Criminal Records Division and member of the Tax Committee.

• MIKE MCINTEE – Editor/Reporter/President, The UPTAKE

• MARTY OWINGS – TTT/KFAI Capitol Correspondent and Publisher of Minnesota Capitol News blog.