MSBA Administrative Law Section
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MSBA Administrative Law Section
1996-97 Annual Report

The Administrative Law Section remained active during 1996-1997. The section obtained MSBA support for legislation to improve salaries for administrative law judges, then worked through the legislative process to seek enactment of the salary increases. The prospects were excellent for passage until politics entered the picture. The bill that included the salary increases, which Gov. Arne Carlson supported, became linked to a minimum wage increase that the governor opposed.
As a result, the bill did not pass during the regular session. We are hopeful that some compromise will be reached and the salary increase will be passed during the special session. The recent media attention to the larger issue of inadequate salaries for senior state agency professionals -- generated by state epidemiologist Mike Osterholm -- may produce additional support for the bill.

The section’s governing council met nine times during the year to oversee the work of the section and plan section activities. The section also sponsored CLE programs and, thanks to Professor Mel Goldberg of William Mitchell, continued to produce a section newsletter.

At the Administrative Law Section’s annual meeting, held in conjunction with the June 1997 MSBA annual convention, the section elected the following officers for 1997-98:
Audrey Zibelman, chair; Laura Nehl-Trueman, vice chair; Steve Mihalchick, secretary-treasurer.
The following new council members were elected: Cort C. Holten, William E. Flynn, and
Barbara J. Case. The following existing council members will continue to serve: Michael
Scandrett, Jocelyn Olson, Tom Muck, Dave Orren, and Mel Goldberg (ex officio).

Michael Scandrett,
Chairperson

- Last Updated 9/24/04 -