When I’m wrong . . . I’m wrong.  Better to acknowledge the mistake and move on then try – as most people these days do – to spin it as something it’s not.  In my case, I drilled the proposed Disaster Relief legislation and the Governor this morning and, while there are some great questions about the proposal, I was off base on my complaints.  Who knows why . . . maybe it was too late when I read it last night . . . maybe it was my rush to unfairly criticize . . . or, perhaps it was my outrage at the garbage funding already passed with Legacy Funds . . . whatever the reason/excuse it was still a mistake.

Yes, there are questions about the legislation that will be considered during the Special Session today.  For instance, why so much money to the Department of Housing Finance and will the money be designated to specific projects or bureaucratic discretion?  Why so much money to the DNR?  Is the money proposed for the DNR really an “emergency” that needs to be addressed today?  What about the money proposed for education and the Department of Human Services or the Minnesota Historical Society?  Another question that might be asked, is whether the legislature is providing disaster relief to anyone who was not insured by choice. If the legislature is paying for such uninsured loss, then will it set a precedent for the future?

These and other questions will likely be discussed and debated over the next several hours.  Actual copies of the proposed legislation and accompanying spread sheet are attached.  If you read the actual bill (only 28 pages), you might find the language on page 13, line 20 to be interesting.  Apparently, in order to ensure that anyone getting funds appropriated by the disaster relief legislation are law abiding, the government has decided to include language to that effect in the bill.