EXCERPT: “Attorney General Keith Ellison told lawmakers last week that he will seek money this year to expand his office’s criminal division. In his first testimony before any legislative committee on Jan. 17, Ellison told the Senate State Government Finance and Policy and Elections Committee that his biennial budget request will seek to bulk up that unit . . . Ellison told senators last week that Minnesota county attorneys have convinced him in talks that they want more assistance from his office. ‘County attorneys in greater Minnesota are excellent lawyers,’ Ellison told the Senate committee. ‘But when you consider a county that has only one or two county attorneys on staff, and you have one murder there, that totally upsets the balance. Somebody has to cover the regular calendar.’ Ellison is likely to get support for his request from senators within his own party. But two Republicans on the Senate State Government committee were split in their opinions about the pending request.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2Wbsf0V
