On June 12, Governor Dayton called for members of the state legislature to return to St. Paul in order to approve new compromise proposals on budget bills he had previously vetoed.
During the session, the House finalized spending proposals on agriculture and the environment, jobs and energy, K-12 Education, and Legacy funding. A capital investment bill which will fund several pressing construction projects was also passed.
In education, you'll recall Governor Dayton vetoed that bill because it did not include hundreds of millions of dollars for his one-size-fits-all universal pre-Kindergarten plan. The bill approved in special session still does not include spending in this area, but it does expand school choice through increased pre-K scholarships. The plan also puts more dollars in every classroom.
Governor Dayton signed a state government finance proposal that gave counties the option of using private auditors instead of the State Auditor, then demanded that the Legislature agree to remove that provision before he would call a special session. The special session is over, and the auditor language remains in state law.
Other highlights of special session include providing nearly $23 million to state agencies in order to better prevent and respond to the avian influenza outbreak that has devastated Minnesota turkey flocks; cutting ratepayer-funded handouts to special solar power interests; and requiring the legislative review of President Obama's Clean Power Plan by March of 2016.
Overall, the new Fiscal Year 2016-17 budget results in a 5.3 percent general fund spending increase from biennium to biennium. This represents the third lowest increase in more than 50 years.
In short, we slowed spending growth while doing a better job of prioritizing where your tax dollars are allocated – such as E-12 students and aging adults – without increasing the tax burden on hardworking Minnesotans.
As always, I am interested in your feedback. Please feel free to contact me by e-mail at Rep.Kathy.Lohmer@House.MN or contact my office at 651-296-4244. You can also send mail to my office address: 501 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.