Posted on 02/02/2003 7:40:48 PM PST by jdege
February 02, 2003
The February CCRN meeting will be on Tuesday, February 4, at 7:30. The meeting is at Hamline Law School.
The 2003 version of the MPPA has been introduced. We are still working on a couple of author amendments but you can now read and refer to the legislation. The House version is again being authored by Representative Boudreau and is HF261. The Senate version is authored by Sen. Pariseau and is SF 222. You can access the bill through the legislature's web site at HYPERLINK http://www.leg.state.mn.us
House hearing will be scheduled shortly. CCRN has asked for as much notice as possible. I would expect the first hearing within the next two weeks.
Senate Majority Leader Hottinger has informed CCRN that the Senate will hold hearings and that the MPPA will have a floor vote. However, we are cautious as there appear to be several strings attached.
First, The DFL wants the chief author to be a DFLer. This means turning control of the legislation to the DFL caucus. Even though we have 9 good friends on the DFL side who we believe are truly ready to support gun owners (thanks to the last election results) we must still remember that in politics there are no guarantees.
Second, hearings open the bill to amendments and the Senate antigun DFLers will likely do everything they can to "poison" the bill. That way, on the floor of the senate, those wanting to vote for the MPPA just "for show" can do so, since they'll know that the bill will go to a conference committee and die.
Third, even if the legislation moves through the Senate, the Senate Rules Committee has the power to hinder of stop passage. (Even though this would further damage the DFL in the eyes of gun many owners, the next Senate election isn't until 2006, so they may be willing to bet on short memories.)
Fourth, supporters can balk at the DFLer's offer and risk losing some votes. Pro gun DFLer's deserve a good deal credit and CCRN and pro gun rights supporters are ready to provide that credit. Letting DFL authors take over the bill also challenges the well-deserved credit due Sen. Pariseau for her six years of very hard work. So we have some politics going on. CCRN will be working through this and let you know what is happening.
That's it for now. CCRN will keep you informed as to what is going on. Our meeting on Tuesday will likely deal with the Senate issues and how the organization plans to deal with them.
CCRN Leadership Team
Which is a good reason to take up Hottinger's offer of committee hearings and a floor vote only if the bill's owner remains Pat Pariseau.
First, NEVER trust any DFL'er.
Insiders (people who are already familiar with the story) understand what you are saying, but they do not need the story in the first place.
Other people never "get it" because they cannot decipher it.
Explane what it means at least at the first of the story.
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