MPR: Residency Ruckus

Residency Ruckus
By Laura McCallum
January 26, 1999

City workers in Minneapolis and St. Paul would be able to live wherever they want, under a bill passed by the Minnesota House. For the past few years, both cities have had residency requirements for new employees. The issue sparked heated debate between urban and suburban House members, and prompted Speaker Steve Sviggum to threaten to remove disruptive lawmakers from the House Chamber, a comment he later reversed.

REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE RICH STANEK is a Minneapolis police lieutenant who lives in Maple Grove. He's chief author of the bill to repeal the residency requirement, and says forcing new employees to live in the city reduces the pool of qualified candidates. Stanek says it's a matter of personal freedom.

Stanek: It seems ludicrous that in America a person can be deprived of a basic fundamental right as to where they want to live and raise their family, not only by their employer, but by government. However, that's exactly what this law does. It lets the government of the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul tell a person where they must live in order to earn a living.

But Minneapolis and St. Paul legislators argue the law works. They say city employees need to have a connection to the community they work in, by getting involved in neighborhoods, schools and, churches. DFL'er Karen Clark of Minneapolis says legislators can't move out of the districts they serve, and neither should police officers.

Clark: Public servants who are living in the communities are going to have a better understanding and a stronger commitment, and we really need that in hard times.

But then the House debate took a bizarre detour. It all started when DFL'er Ted Winter said author Rich Stanek was wrong, and urban legislators were right, prompting cheers from his caucus. Republican Majority Leader Tim Pawlenty returned Winter's punch.

Pawlenty: We will stand for freedom for people to live and work wherever they want and you are wrong.

Speaker Steve Sviggum gaveled the Chamber quiet and ordered members to stop their applause.

Sviggum: Sergeant, if it's done any further, you will remove those who are clapping their hands.

DFL'ers pounced on Sviggum, relishing their first chance to try to undercut the new Speaker. Minneapolis Representative Wes Skoglund said in his 12 terms in the House, he'd never heard of a Speaker threatening to remove members from the chamber.

Skoglund: That is frightening, it's horrifying. We may be the only state in the nation where the presiding officer has the authority to throw somebody out of the body. It's a horrible mistake, Mr. Speaker.

Sviggum initially stood his ground, saying he had the authority to prevent chaos in the House, but he ultimately retracted his threat and apologized to lawmakers. After the House adjourned, Sviggum - fighting a case of laryngitis - said every referee makes a bad call once in awhile.

Sviggum: I am certainly capable of making mistakes and am not immune from choosing the right words. On the other hand, I hope that I'm also big enough to retreat from that and to say "I'm sorry" when necessary, but also strong enough to keep order and decorum on the floor.

The residency bill nearly got lost in the buzz over the Speaker's first gaffe, but it did pass: 94-37.

Laura McCallum covers the Minnesota Legislature for Minnesota Public Radio. You can reach her at lmccallum@mpr.org .

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