Capitol Topics are new e-mail announcement lists on top public policy issues in Minnesota.   Join the topic(s) of choice for useful and serious public policy information exchange among legislators, legislative and agency staff, issue experts, interest groups and interested citizens.  Capitol Topics are moderated with low message volume and save the time it takes to stay informed and involved.

Join the Capitol Topics e-mail list(s) of interest now via the web form or read the full details below. Each forum opens with 75 members, sign-up today. Return to this page to join more than one list.

EDUCATION POLICY - K-12 education policy, funding, testing, standards and policy issues related to improving education. 

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TAX REFORM - Income, sales, and property tax reform proposals presented by the Ventura Administration and the legislature. 

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REDISTRICTING, ELECTIONS & ETHICS - Redistricting and legislative proposals on campaign finance, elections, and ethics law changes.

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TRANSPORTATION & TRANSIT - Transportation and transit including roads, ramp meters, light and commuter rail, buses, and more. 

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PRIVACY - Privacy in the information age with a focus on legislative proposals related to the use and exchange of information on individuals in private and public sectors. 

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Pending. Volunteer host needed.
 

Is your issue not here? Read on below and volunteer to help create more forums.

Related efforts ... 
 

STUDY GROUP - Also, Minnesota E-Democracy invites you to join our special E-Democracy Legislative Study Group which is exploring options for "Internet-enabling" representative democracy in Minnesota.  This is not part of a Session Topics.

 

OPEN DISCUSSION and OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS - Visit the main Discussion page for our general Minnesota politics and local community e-mail discussion lists. 

Capitol Topics are new experimental low volume e-mail announcement lists specifically focused on top issues at the state capitol.  They are designed for useful and serious public policy information exchange among legislators, legislative and agency staff, issue experts, interest groups and interested citizens. No matter where you live in Minnesota or how busy you are, you can now participate in the heart of real democracy on your own time on the issues that matter to you.

Participants are encouraged to share the text of (no attachments):

1. legislative announcements including committee meeting information, agendas, and calls for expert testimony
2. policy research requests for information
3. draft legislation or bill summaries for comment to the author
4. press releases from legislators, the Governor and others on the topic
5. testimony and handouts presented to the legislature and other state bodies - send web address, upload file into EGroups, or send text (no attachments)
6. important news articles web addresses (do not send the full text of copyrighted news stories)
7. important state agency reports and documents web addresses
8. interest group announcements, alerts, meetings notices, position statements
9. relevant policy-related announcements from national and international sources
10. Citizen Online Testimony and Citizen Dialogue Editorials (see below)
11. other material directly relevant to the specific session topic
12. Session Topic content as well as other topical content not covered by our five forums may also be sent to the 500 person Minnesota Politics Announce e-mail list at <mn-politics-announce@egroups.com>

Why only five initial topics?

The initial Capitol Topics (listed above) registered the most interest in a recent poll of E-Democracy users.  Based on the development of this experiment, e-mail lists on topics such as land use, housing, health, immigration, stadiums, environment and natural resources, telecommunications, higher education, welfare reform, and energy will be also be considered.  Each forum requires at least one active volunteer list manager and 75 or more subscribers to be an effective and useful experience.  Volunteer to help via e-mail <info@e-democracy.org>. Ultimately, E-Democracy hopes to establish a significant grant-supported media/government/civic partnership to establish and support up to 40 Capitol Topics.

Guidelines and Rules of Decorum

Each Session Topic e-mail list is facilitated by our volunteer list managers based on the same guidelines presented here.  The goal is to promote focused information exchange within the context of representative decision-making structures at the capitol.   These guidelines give them wide discretion to the list managers to ensure virtual decorum similar to the in-person legislative process.  Ongoing informal debate on any topic is more appropriate on the MN-POLITICS-DISCUSS e-mail list. Session Topics will not be used for abstract discussion of political philosophy. 

Specific Guidelines:

1. E-mail messages may either share topical announcements or present carefully prepared Citizen Online Testimony or Citizen Dialogue Editorials.  Expert testimony is encouraged as well as text-only copies or web addresses to testimony presented at official legislative committee hearings or other public events.  Submissions should be sent directly to the appropriate list (i.e. mn-listname@egroups.com) and not the list manager.

2. All messages or replies shall address the forum as a whole and not specific individuals.  An appropriate opening for each message is "Members of Forum,."   When addressing or crediting another member, members should be addressed in a respectful manner.  Pretend you are addressing a legislative committee.

3. No member may post more than twice a day unless given specific approval by the list manager.  Official notices from legislative committees or offices may be sent without restriction.

4. All submissions shall be spelled checked, use proper  capitalization, and be edited to the best ability of the author.   Profanity is strictly prohibited. Submissions remain the intellectual property of the author, however, once testimony is submitted to the e-mail list redistribution rights are granted to all members of the forum. 

5. Short quotations may be used from previous posts and must be fully and clearly credited.  Extensive quoting (typical e-mail list style) is highly discouraged and inclusion of the entire text of a previous message should be avoided. Short online reactions must be sent privately and never to the public forum (i.e. "I agree!" or "I can't believe you said ...").

6. Each Session Topic list manager(s) has full discretion over the application of these rules.  They may give warnings, moderate or deny select member posts based on prior decorum violations, and remove members should they become disruptive or abusive.  Session Topic postings may be moderated (reviewed before distribution) or changed to unmoderated at the discretion of the list manager(s).  The list manager(s) may also use the rules and the guidelines from the MN- POLITICS-DISCUSS list as required to assist them in their duties.  There is no formal warning required of the Session Topic e-mail list manager(s).  Disputes of a serious matter may be taken up my the non-partisan, non-profit E-Democracy Board (the legally responsible entity).