Friends,
On Wednesday, Governor Mark Dayton vetoed the tax conformity-emergency education compromise plan as well as the omnibus supplemental spending agreement that was sent to his desk on Sunday by the legislature. This was incredibly disappointing.
This is Governor Dayton putting his partisan interests over what is best for Minnesotans. Despite sending compromise proposals to his desk, Governor Dayton refused to come to the table and be engaged in the process.
The legislature's plan included an average of $96 in new per-pupil spending across the state, education dollars the governor repeatedly called an emergency to stop imminent layoffs of teachers. I am angry that he has chosen to play politics over doing what is right for Minnesota families. I look forward to working with a new governor next session to build on the great things we were able to accomplish over these past two years.?
Here is House Speaker Kurt Daudt discussing with the media our attempts to work with the governor and the governor's unwillingness to put in the work to reach an agreement.
A partial list of those affected by Governor Dayton's vetoes include:
- K-12 students who won’t benefit from school safety funding
- Victims of elder abuse
- People with disabilities, and their caretakers, who would be affected by a 7% cut to the Disability Waiver Rate System
- Victims of opioid addiction, and medical professionals
- Victims of distracted driving
- Special education and Head Start students
- People dealing with MNLARS hassles
- Deputy registrars whose businesses are floundering after MNLARS
- People who need mental health support, particularly farmers and students
- Farmers and agribusinesses that need Section 179 conformity for equipment depreciation
- People who live in rural areas without high-speed internet
- Students who need help to afford college
- People who need job training and businesses that need skilled workers
- Taxpayers who will have a difficulty when filing their taxes next year
- Voters concerned about election security
- Minnesotans concerned about privacy, data breaches, and cyber security
- CPAs and tax professionals who will be dealing with very complex tax filings
- Parents looking to find the best school for their children
- Low-income working families who rely on federal child care subsidies
- New teachers who need licenses, and schools who want to hire them
- Children enrolled in Head Start programs
- Schools that need adjustments to fully fund special education
- Patients who care about transparent pricing for health care and prescription drugs
More shocking is that in Governor Dayton's press conference following issuing the vetoes, he could not lay out a case for why they should be vetoed. See for yourself.
More Details on Vetoed Bills
The tax conformity and education plan were part of a compromise effort between legislative Republicans and Governor Dayton. The federal conformity plan protected taxpayers, simplified Minnesota's tax code, and provided the first income tax rate cut in nearly 20 years. It also made available more than $225 million to help students—nearly $100 million more than what the governor requested—provided new money and additional flexibility for school districts to address budget shortfalls.
In the supplemental budget bill, House and Senate Republicans compromised with the governor—more than 60 percent of the objections raised by the governor were removed or amended—meeting him more than halfway. The bill contained shared priorities like ensuring safe schools, repairing roads and bridges, tackling the opioid epidemic, protecting aging and vulnerable adults, and preventing a cut to caregivers of disabled Minnesotans.
The bills we sent to the governor build on the tremendously successful accomplishments from the 2017 session that included the largest tax cut in nearly two decades, the largest investment in roads and bridges in state history without a gas tax increase, major funding boosts for education, and reforms to lower health care costs and boost health care choices for Minnesota families.
Again, I am so disappointed with the actions of Governor Dayton.
Please continue to stay in touch to share your thoughts or concerns. My phone number is 651-296-4265 or you can email me at rep.matt.grossell@house.mn.
Have a great weekend and God Bless!
Matt