A new legislative session and an old problem: a state budget crisis.

Staying focused on the task ahead was a challenge for area legislators in the first week of the 2009 session.

And watching the Franken-Coleman U.S. senate race recount results take a new turn into the courts.

The state canvassing board announced Monday, Democrat Al Franken had collected 225 more votes for the U.S. Senate seat held by incumbent Republican Norm Coleman.

The next day, Coleman announced he was filing a lawsuit challenging Franken’s recount victory.

State law prevents officials from issuing an election certificate until legal matters are resolved.

Franken did not participate Tuesday when new U.S. Senators took their oath of office in Washington.

State Rep. Robin Brown (DFL-District 27A) said simply, “Our Secretary of State has handled the recount in a way in which we can be proud.”

State Rep. Jeanne Poppe (DFL-District 27B) said, “This was a close election with thousands of voters engaged in the process.”

“Throughout the process there was no indication of fraud,” Poppe added. “Minnesota law prevailed and every vote that could be was counted.”

Across the State House aisle, State Rep. Randy Demmer (Rep. – District 29A) said everyone — the candidates and their supporters — must discern the difference between “what we want to be and what is.”

Confessing he has his own personal hopes about what the outcome of the Coleman court challenge will be, Demmer said he believes the process to elect a U.S. Senator and then count the ballots and recount them was “methodical and carefully thought out.”

Demmer does have concerns that raise “red flags” of doubt about the outcome of the election results. He mentioned the alleged double-counting of ballots and reports of more ballots being counted than registered voters in an individual voting precinct as two of those concerns.

But the Hayfield Republican said he is willing to “see the process through to its end.”

“When this is all through, I think the Legislature will take a look and see if there is some tweaking that needs to be done to the election process,” the fourth term Republican Representative said. “Maybe, we should all step back and look at the entire process to see if it is as efficient as it can be. This could be an opportunity for us.”

State Senator Dan Sparks (DFL-District 27) said he is willing to wait for Coleman’s court challenge to be completed. “I truly believe every voice in Minnesota should be heard on this matter and the court challenge is part of that process,” the Austin DFLer said.

If the roles were reversed and Coleman had the slim recount lead over Franken, Sparks said, “Who knows? Franken would probably do the same thing.”

Sparks could be called “Mr. Recount.”

When he was elected to his first term in the Minnesota Senate, Sparks survived a recount challenge waged by his opponent in District 27.

First elected in 2002, Sparks was re-elected in 2006.

Sparks edged incumbent State Senator Grace Schwab, an Albert Lea Republican, by 33 votes in the November 2002 general election and Schwab contested the result, which in the end affirmed Sparks’ victory.

All the legislators returned to session this week with a “gorilla” of a problem waiting for their attention: The state budget deficit.

Sparks said no other matter is as far-reaching as the state financial crisis.

“As the legislative session begins, my hope is that we all can refocus

and work on collaborative solutions to a much larger problem that lies ahead,” Sparks said. “The state is facing a $4.8 billion budget deficit through 2011, meaning serious spending reductions must be made if we are to continue providing quality services Minnesotans rely upon.”

“The problem is that most programs like education, health care services and public safety already saw significant budget reductions during the 2003 session when the state also was facing a budget shortfall,” the senator said.

“We all have seen the consequences of those cuts through higher property

taxes, higher tuition, higher fees and fewer services,” he said. “It’s a real fear that cutting funding for any of these areas by the amount needed will result in similar long-term consequences that will drag down the state of Minnesota,” the DFLer said. “Cutting more money from our state’s colleges and universities, for example, will mean higher tuition that may prevent

more of our children from receiving higher education,” he warned.

“That’s not a road we want to travel down, especially in an economy that is demanding we produce highly skilled, prepared workforce that can grow jobs in this state,” Sparks said.