Accessibility menu
State Representative Tim O'Driscoll
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-7808
For more information contact:
Email update
Budget sent to governor
Dear Neighbor,
It took long days and late nights on the House floor to reach this point, but we have sent Gov. Dayton our plan to balance the budget without raising taxes.
Now we will see how the governor responds.
Many House members began the session bent on keeping state spending level for the new biennium. We have a $30.2 billion budget this biennium ($32.5 billion with one-time federal stimulus money included). A new economic forecast released in February shows state revenue will rise to $34 billion in the upcoming biennium. We adjusted our spending to match that new information.
Along the way, the governor proposed spending $37 billion and raising taxes to help cover his extra spending. He still is proposing approximately $36 billion as we head down to the wire this session and has criticized the House for being unwilling to compromise.
I respectfully beg to differ. The House already moved to the middle, compromising with a $34 billion budget plan. We are looking for the governor to come to the center as well.
It would be helpful if the governor would come to the budget table so we can work together on a solution. He did help us finalize a budget bill pertaining to agriculture and then signed it into law, but then he changed his course and has been absent from negotiations ever since.
Dayton did speak during a joint meeting of House-Senate majority members today, but it was a prepared statement which lacked any groundbreaking messages. I was sincerely hoping that our nearly one hour of dialog with the governor would have yielded some common ground that would bring the him back to the table and work together to take care of business for the people of Minnesota.
On a brief other note: I have received inquiries from constituents regarding proposals to build a new Minnesota Vikings stadium. To date, we have not received a formal proposal from the team itself. I will let you know if anything develops.
I am still optimistic we will find a budget solution and adjourn on time Monday, but right now it is up to the governor to act on the bills we have sent him. The bottom line is this: Unlike the governor, the Legislature has no appetite for raising taxes on hard-working Minnesotans.
-Tim
News Items
- Rep. O'Driscoll Statement on Omnibus Pensions Bill (SF489) - (Posted: May 18 2013 2:59PM)
- Legislative Survey Results - (Posted: May 17 2013 1:52PM)
- HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADERS RESPOND TO PASSAGE OF JOBS, ENERGY OMNIBUS BILL - (Posted: May 16 2013 10:16AM)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.