ST. PAUL -- The Minnesota Legislature is not in session this time of year, but the House convened more than 60 committee meetings last month, compared to three in October two years ago.
Republicans say that is a bloated and expensive schedule, threatening to end the tradition of citizen-legislators.
Democrats say the heavy meeting load helps lawmakers hear concerns of Minnesotans, especially those in rural areas who seldom can drive to St. Paul during legislative sessions.
"The complicated and bloated process is confusing to the public, time consuming and expensive," House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, said Wednesday. "There is very little to show for the excessive amount of meetings taking place."
Seifert claimed he could not even get Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party leaders, who control the Legislature, to give him a complete list of all committees, subcommittees and commissions now meeting.
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"The Democrats have turned a part-time citizen Legislature into a full-time job," Seifert said.
Democrats took control of the House this year, after eight years of Republican rule.
Committees Seifert complains about include those with names such as environmental justice and healthy housing, drinking water source protection and statewide cable franchising.
Some committees were formed by the full Legislature, others by DFL leaders and still others by DFL committee chairmen.
Rep. Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, said he has three all-day committee meetings this week, which means he cannot work or do the deer hunting he would like.
But the representative who runs the House's top panel - the Rules Committee - said Republicans just don't want to work.
"If they feel they are working too hard, I'm guilty as charged," House Majority Leader Tony Sertich, DFL-Chisholm, said of increasing the number of committees.
Rural lawmakers, such as Seifert and Sertich, benefit the most from the heavy committee load, Sertich said.
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"The more meetings you have, the more input you have," he said. "It is one thing to talk about (an issue) in the Capitol and much different to see it in person."
People in remote parts of the state can take time off to testify at a local hearing, while they can't afford to drive all the way to St. Paul during the annual winter legislative sessions, Sertich said.
Seifert estimated that there are 80 House committees, more than 20 on health and human services issues alone. There is no complete list, he said.
A Forum Communications look at House committee meetings showed more than 60 last month. In October of 2005, the last non-election year, there were three meetings of committees that were not legally required to meet.
August and September showed similarly lopsided totals compared to 2005.
