The month of August is often referred to as the “dog days of summer,” the time after the Fourth of July celebrations and before the kids go back to school. It is usually hot and people are not paying too much attention to politics, at least until the start of the Minnesota State Fair. What a great time to have a bunch of miscellaneous and obscure bills passed by the Legislature become law! Unless a specific date is written into the statute, all new laws become effective on Aug. 1. This date was probably picked for two reasons: 1. Because it was after the start of the state’s fiscal year calendar which is July 1, and 2. Because most people are vacationing and have long forgotten about legislative activities since they adjourned some two months earlier.

Despite being at the Capitol for five months last session, the Legislature somehow could not produce a balanced budget. During the budget stalemate, what other weighty concerns did they address? What important issues consumed their time so that when the session ended there was a $2.7 billion budget gap? Get ready, here are some highlights of the new laws, which went into effect on Aug. 1.

Starting with my favorite … the “More Money for Attorneys Bill.” Sponsored by two attorneys, Rep. Joe Mullery, DFL-Minneapolis, and Sen. Don Betzold, DFL-Fridley, this new law eliminates a per-hour cap on an award of attorney’s fees in a civil action or contested case where the state is a party. The current $125 an hour just isn’t enough. The new law allows a judge to issue a “reasonable” award based on the “kind and quality” of service received by the defense. After all, in this economy, how can we expect any “quality” attorney to make it on only a $125 an hour?

Second, there is the “Let’s License Everybody Syndrome.” Starting Aug. 1, the Board of Firefighter Training and Education will appoint an accredited organization to prepare and administer firefighter certification examinations. This is just the precursor to the real law, which does not go into effect until July 1, 2011. After that date, all newly hired full-time firefighters will need a license. Do we have a problem in Minnesota with unqualified firefighters? There are often stories on the nightly news about heroic rescues and property losses which are kept to a minimum because of capable firefighters throughout Minnesota. If current firefighters are exempt from the law, is there a real fear that new recruits won’t be as good as the veterans they are replacing? What was the problem the Legislature was trying to solve?

Next is this year’s “feel good” legislation. One year after the Dakota Conflict of 1862, President Lincoln signed the Minnesota Indian Removal Law, resulting in removal of the Dakota people from the state. Effective Aug. 1, 2009, in the form of a nonbinding resolution, Minnesota lawmakers urge the president and Congress to repeal this federal legislation, which is still on the books. What has Congress been doing for the last 100 years?

Second place for this year’s “feel good” legislation: A new requirement that campus bookstores at public colleges and universities, to the extent possible, offer clothing for sale that was manufactured in the United States. Most college students are on a budget, so my guess is that price will still determine purchasing behavior. And what does the phrase “to the extent possible” mean?

Let’s not leave out one of the Legislature’s annual contests: “How to make “Minnesota’s fishing laws more complicated!” Every year they find a way to make Minnesota’s fishing laws just a little more confusing. This year’s new laws include the following: 1. The minimum age of a resident who may fish free during the “Take a Kid Fishing Weekend” when accompanied by a child under age 16 is lowered from 18 to 16; 2. Anyone may fish from shore in water that is wholly contained within a state park, except in waters that require a trout stamp; 3. Spearing a fish is added to the list of available lifetime licenses, of course with some exceptions; 4. Finally, a nonresident license may be issued to spear fish from a dark house. (This one was passed so that Ollie could invite his cousin Sven from Wisconsin to spear a fish with him in a dark house.) Sounds dangerous!

Many of the new laws passed this session aren’t bad, they are simply not significant. There is an old saying that goes, never waste a good budget crisis to bring about meaningful change. In 2009, lawmakers squandered an opportunity to change the way services are delivered in Minnesota. They frittered away the legislative session with a little funding change here and a little funding change there.

In addition, they delayed a whole bunch of payments, which will only make budget matters worse in the next biennium. The opportunity to rethink what services should be provided at the state level, the county level and the city level was lost. And more importantly, the key question about what services should or shouldn’t be provided by government wasn’t addressed.

Hopefully, next year lawmakers will tackle the important issue of budget reform and not just rehash the budget battles of the 2009 session.

Phil Krinkie is a former Republican state representative from Lino Lakes and the president of the Taxpayers League of Minnesota. The eight-term lawmaker chaired the House Tax Committee and two other House panels. This column originally appeared in the St. Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report.