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Dayton signs bonding bill; unsure about tax bills
Gov. Mark Dayton signed the $496 million capital investment bill, but isn’t sure yet how he’ll act on a pair of tax bills passed during the final hours of the legislative session.
At a press conference, Dayton said the bonding bill is smaller than he’d hoped. He also criticized it for being more generous to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system than the University of Minnesota, and said he is “incredulous” that the bill doesn’t fund civic center projects in Mankato, Rochester and St. Cloud.
“Nevertheless, it’s a $496 million bonding bill; that’s two-thirds of what I was looking for. And in the bonding realm, two-thirds is better than nothing,” Dayton said.
As for the omnibus tax bill (HF2337*/
SF1972), Dayton said there are many provisions he likes, but that he’s still concerned about the impact of the bill’s “tails” on the state’s budget. A second package of mostly technical tax changes (HF2690*/
SF2136) is also a concern to Dayton, because he said it contains local government aid formula changes that would hit certain cities hard. He said he plans to study both bills in detail before he decides whether to sign or veto them.
Dayton also shared his thoughts on the end of the 2012 session, which he characterized as largely unsuccessful. The only exceptions, he said, were the passage of the bonding bill and funding for a “People’s Stadium” to house the Minnesota Vikings.
“I’d say the session was disappointing overall, salvaged by those two major jobs bills at the end,” he said.
Dayton said the bonding bill and the stadium show that bipartisanship can yield major accomplishments. He accused Republicans of squandering much of the 2012 session passing partisan bills that they knew were destined for a veto. However, he also thanked Republican leaders for allowing an up-or-down vote on the stadium.
“There are a lot more jobs in that bill than in anything else that’s been enacted this session or even considered this session,” Dayton said.
- Nick Busse
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