Republican senators push shutdown plan [again]

The four Republican state senators are at it again.One day after making their case to the Minnesota Supreme Court, the four Republicans on Tuesday also asked a Ramsey County court to adopt their approach in heading off a possible state government shutdown.The senators, led by Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, and Sen. Sean Nienow, R-Cambridge, asked the state Supreme Court Monday to confine what would be funded during a government shutdown to what is required by the Minnesota constitution, federal mandates or state law. In their latest filing, the senators asked Ramsey County -- which will hear legal arguments Thursday regarding a possible shutdown -- to do much the same.The senators said that Gov. Mark Dayton and state Attorney General Lori Swanson, in trying to define what state core functions should be funded during a shutdown, were overstepping their authority and attempting to unilaterally create a state budget."Our purpose as interveners is to oppose the petitions of the governor and attorney general, which usurp the authority of the Legislature," said Nienow. "This is nothing more than a power grab."Nienow said the senators were also asking that Ramsey District Judge Kathleen Gearin remove herself from the case "due to her past rulings of similar cases".The senators said their goal was to force the governor to instead call for a special legislative session.