American Experiment Announces Bipartisan Task Force to Examine Legislative Process, Recommend Reforms Roger Moe and Chris Georgacas to lead task force Minneapolis, MN -- Center of the American Experiment CEO Annette Meeks today announced the creation of a bipartisan task force to study reform of Minnesota’s legislative process.     The American Experiment Policy Blueprint Task Force on Legislative Reform will be co-chaired by former Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe and former Minnesota Republican Party Chair Chris Georgacas.   “Minnesota’s part-time legislature has gone into special session in ten of the last 12 years and this year, for the first time, Minnesota experienced a partial government shutdown,” said Moe.  “As a result, many people are wondering if the system needs to be changed. This is the perfect time for a general reexamination of the legislative process.” The task force will study the effectiveness of the legislative process, identify problems, and recommend solutions, including statutory or rule changes.  Among topics to be explored are: Increasing civility and trust among legislators without “taking the politics out of  politics” Ensuring more timely resolution of major public policy conflicts to minimize the need for special sessions Improving the operations of bicameralism Encouraging greater long-term thinking in legislative deliberations “Our state legislature works well in many respects.  Part of our task force’s effort will be to recognize what does work well,” said Georgacas.  “But Minnesota’s legislative process is not perfect, and arguably it is not as good as it once was.  We will sort through the concerns – valid or not – and suggest realistic solutions to the legitimate problems.”  The task force will begin meeting in November and will issue its recommendations in a report before the start of the 2006 legislative session. The legislative reform task force will be the latest in a series of Policy Blueprint studies sponsored by American Experiment.  Previous studies concerned the state’s executive branch (1998) and the Metropolitan Council (2004). Center of the American Experiment Legislative Process Task Force Task Force Chairmen: Roger Moe (DFL) President, National Strategies Inc.; Former State Senator (1970-2002); Senate Majority Leader (1981-2002); Member of numerous state and national non-profit boards Chris Georgacas (R) President and CEO, Goff and Howard, Inc; Chairman, Republican Party of Minnesota (1993-97); Senior Aide to the House Minority Leader (1991-93); Senate staffer (1985) Task Force Members: Jack Coffman Former Politics and Government Writer, St. Paul Pioneer Press. Steve Dornfeld Former Editorial Writer, St. Paul Pioneer Press Nate Garvis (I) Vice President of Government Affairs, Target Corporation Bill Kelly (DFL) Former Vice President of Government Relations, Wells Fargo; State Representative (1971-1978) Andy Kozak (DFL) Principal, North State Advisors; Administrative Assistant and Staff Assistant to Lt. Governor Perpich, and Administrative Assistant to Governor and Senator Wendy Anderson Mary Krinkie (R) Vice President for Government Relations, Minnesota Hospital Association Dee Long (DFL) Lobbyist, Minnesotans for an Energy Efficient Economy; former Board Chairman of the Citizens League; State Representative (1978-1997); and Speaker of the House (1991-1993) Bernie Omann (R) Lobbyist, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities; State Representative (1987-1992);  Chief of Staff for Governor Arne Carlson Bill Schreiber (R) Lobbyist, Messerli and Kramer; House Minority Leader (1987-1990); former Director of Intergovernmental Relations with the Department of Transportation; State Representative (1973-1976) (1979-1992); former Chairman of the House Tax Committee Peter Thrane (R) Shareholder and member of the government relations practice group, Leonard Street and Deinard; Former House Committee Administrator for Representative Steve Sviggum Jim Ulland (R) President, Ulland Investment; Former Commerce Commissioner; State Senator (1977-1984); and State Representative (1969-1972) (1973-1978) Deanna Wiener (DFL) Realtor; State Senator (1992-2001); former Chair of the Senate Higher Education Budget Division