Saturday’s early morning conclusion to the special session was a relief to local legislators Sen.

Sunday, July 01, 2001

Saturday’s early morning conclusion to the special session was a relief to local legislators Sen. Grace Schwab and Rep. Dan Dorman. Both agreed a shutdown would have been hard defend to their constituents.

&uot;There would have been no good excuse for a shutdown. I think just going into a special session at all is a bit embarrassing,&uot; said Schwab, R-Albert Lea. &uot;I hope it won’t happen again.&uot;

Dorman said he fears the combative nature of the session will carry over into the bonding session that begins in January.

&uot;There’s always a stubbornness at the legislature, but this session seemed different. Maybe, with the surplus, the stakes were higher.&uot; said Dorman, R-Albert Lea. &uot;But, as much as I hate to say it, I think the next session will go along these lines, especially with the fact that it’s an election year.&uot;

Even with the special session and shutdown scare, Schwab said the session was productive.

&uot;It was really worth waiting for,&uot; Schwab said. &uot;Some of the policy changes, especially in the k-12 bill and the health and human services bill, are going to make some lasting impact.&uot;

Dorman thinks the tax bill is the crowning achievement of the extended session. It offers Minnesota residents as much reform as relief, he said.

&uot;I think history will forget about all of the contentiousness, and this session will actually prove to be one of the more productive. The tax bill, especially, is really significant,&uot; Dorman said.

Dorman said opposing legislators became more and more civil as the House worked through the night and into the early morning hours.

&uot;We found a spirit of cooperation by the last few hours. We were really getting down to business,&uot; Dorman said.