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State Representative Tony Cornish
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4240
For more information contact: Jason Wenisch 651-296-2317
NEWS RELEASE
COULD LEGISLATURE MAKE GOVERNOR DO DIRTY WORK?
ST. PAUL – As the legislative session winds down, State Representative Tony Cornish (R-Good Thunder) said he is worried that the majority party may employ an end-of-game strategy that will allow it to blame Governor Pawlenty for needed cuts to the state’s budget. Minnesota currently faces a $935 million budget deficit that must be eliminated in the coming weeks.
“So far, the majority is refusing to negotiate, and we only have until May 19th to get the job done,” Cornish said. “My fear is they will approve a bunch of garbage bills that they know the Governor will veto. Once he does this and the Legislature has adjourned for the year, Pawlenty himself would be forced to reduce government spending on his own, making him the bad guy.”
Cornish said the scenario would closely resemble the majority party’s handling of this year’s bonding bill. Governor Pawlenty told legislative leaders he would sign the bill in its entirety if it totaled $825 million or less, and that he would veto anything that spent more than that because it could jeopardize the state’s bond rating.
The House and Senate majority refused, and sent Pawlenty a $925 million bill and forced him to do the dirty work. He did, slicing the bill down to $717 million and forcing projects like the Alltell Center – which the City of Mankato wanted - to be cut.
“This allowed legislative leadership to whine and make Pawlenty look like the bad guy, when in reality, if they had just sent him an $825 million bill he would have signed it,” Cornish said. “It’s all about finishing the job, but it appears the majority party may be more interested in saving face with its favored special interest groups.”
Cornish said the maneuver would be all the more disappointing considering the House Majority Leader promised a cooperative spirit with the Governor’s Office and told lawmakers it is not difficult to manage the Minnesota House.
“Taking the easy way out by refusing to compromise is not getting things done,” Cornish said. “Forcing the Governor to make budget cuts that should be made by the Legislature is not finishing the job. It makes it very easy for the majority party to tell the user groups ‘we fought for you; these reductions are the Governor’s fault.’
“I hope I’m dead wrong on this prediction, but I fear we may be headed down this path again,” Cornish continued. “In the end, the choice of inaction only hurts constituents around the state. We’ve seen it with the bonding bill, and if they force the Governor to do the Legislature’s work, we’ll see it with budget reductions.”
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