Dear Neighbor,
This week, a district court judge struck down Gov. Mark Dayton’s attempt to line-item veto the Legislature’s funding.
One key portion of the ruling against the governor’s action reads: “To conclude, the court holds that Governor Dayton improperly used his line-item veto authority to gain a repeal or modification of unrelated legislation by effectively eliminating a co-equal branch of government. Therefore, under the unique and limited circumstances of this case, the Governor’s line-item veto of the Legislature’s appropriations offended the Separation of Powers clause of the Minnesota Constitution. They are null and void.”
It is good to see the district judge reach this decision that protects the integrity of our Constitution. However, it is unfortunate that instead of allowing this verdict to stand, the governor already has put the wheels in motion to appeal this case to the Supreme Court.
The hope is the Supreme Court will rule swiftly upon receiving the governor’s appeal and, once again, protect the voice of the people by ruling that it is unconstitutional for one branch of government tread on our system of checks and balances by effectively extinguishing another co-equal branch.
Look for more as developments occur and, until next time, I hope you are having a good summer.
Sincerely,
Jim