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State Representative Tim O'Driscoll
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-7808
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OP/ED COLUMN
Reaching out to the governor
By Rep. Tim O'Driscoll
Legislative leaders have been attempting to reach out to Gov. Dayton and engage him in discussions on the types of reductions and spending priorities that he would be interested in seeing in the state's record $34 billion proposed spending plan for Minnesota's next biennium.
Several House and Senate republicans didn't want to spend $34 billion and would have been comfortable with state spending more in the neighborhood of $31 to $32 billion. However, the House and Senate did compromise and approved a $34 billion balanced budget, which was sent to the governor and then vetoed by him.
It's important to note that since the 2011 session began in early January, the House and Senate leaders have reached out to Gov. Dayton and his team numerous times, inviting them to the table to discuss spending priorities. Unfortunately, the governor took a pass on this repeated invitation.
In an ongoing attempt to keep the lines of communication open and to make progress, the House and Senate leadership extended an invitation to two of the governor's commissioners to participate in discussions today regarding spending priorities and reductions that the governor has said he might support. This invitation was rejected by the governor in a press conference he held today.
The governor said he will not allow his commissioners to meet with our legislative leaders to discuss the budget. He also announced he wants to bring a mediator into the budget negotiations. Both are unusual twists that could make it more challenging to reach a timely agreement and avoid a state shutdown.
The suggestion of using a mediator raised eyebrows and, from what I'm hearing this afternoon, didn't seem to gain much support on either side of the aisle. House and Senate leadership remain hopeful the governor will engage in discussions, but for now, Gov. Dayton is focused on holding out for tax increases and beginning the process of readying the state for a shutdown.
Yesterday, I spoke with House leadership and offered some additional ideas on ways we could move discussion forward on the state budget. Keep in mind the only person who can call a special session is the governor.
With fewer than 28 days left until the start of the next biennium, we need to have the governor at the table with us now.
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