The St.Paul Pioneer Press at TwinCities.com published an article (see http://www.twincities.com/opinion/ci_14698526 ) by Peter Nelson, an attorney and policy fellow at the Center of the American Experiment and Kim Crockett, the President and General Counsel of the Minnesota Free Market Institute. Nelson and Crockett argued that Governor Pawlenty’s use of the “Unallotment” statute was proper and that any concerns about the statute giving the executive too much power should be handled at the legislature. Unfortunately, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled 4-3 against the governor, throwing the current budget and legislative session into chaos. The Chief Justice, writing for the majority, amended the statute more to its liking, rather than applying the statute as written by the legislature. We applaud the dissent written by Justice Lorie Gildea and recommend reading at least the first paragraph. Judges are to say what the law is, not what the law should be. Unfortunately, a majority of the court took up a legislative mantel, forgetting the limited role of the judiciary in these matters. Now the state is in uncharted territory with just a few days left of the legislative session.
The opinion can be found at http://www.mncourts.gov/opinions/sc/current/OPA100064-0505.pdf
