Friends,
It was a busy final week of the legislative session. We worked through the weekend and finally adjourned Sunday night, having completed our work with time to spare. Unfortunately, a few days later Governor Dayton made the unfortunate choice to veto a number of the bills, more on that below.
This weekend I look forward to spending time with my family and reflecting on the many service men and women who have given their lives for our freedom. This Memorial Day Weekend, give thanks for all who have served, but especially those who have died in service to our great country.
Governor Dayton Vetoes Bills
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, especially since he seemed to lack actual objections to the proposals at a press conference this week announcing the vetoes.
Governor Dayton's veto of tax conformity, school safety, and emergency funding for schools will hurt Minnesota families. It's truly disappointing and unfortunate that the governor chose to play politics rather than do what is best for Minnesota families.
Our compromise plan included an average of $96 in new per-pupil spending across the state, education dollars the governor repeatedly called an emergency. These schools will now receive no new money due to this veto by the governor.
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 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 extremely disappointed with the actions of Governor Dayton.
Hopeful for Bonding Bill
Despite Governor Dayton's vetoes, there is still hope that he will sign the Bonding Bill that passed both the House and Senate with the bipartisan supermajority needed for bonding projects. The bonding bill is an infrastructure-heavy, geographically balanced capital investment package featuring $825 million in general obligation bonding to fund construction projects throughout the state. The majority of funding is dedicated to bricks-and-mortar projects, such as roads and bridges, school safety, water infrastructure, and statewide asset preservation. In addition, the bonding bill includes $32 million for the construction of new veterans homes in Bemidji, Montevideo, and Preston, as well as $10 million for the renovation of existing homes.
There are two key projects in our area that would be funded in the Bonding Bill:
- Brockton Interchange - $13.5 million has been dedicated to building an exchange on I-94 near the city of Dayton. This stretch had previously been the longest stretch without an exit or on-ramp in the area. This will help with both traffic safety and the flow of traffic in our area of the state.
- Highway 169/101st Ave Interchange - $4 million has been dedicated to rebuild and reconstruct the Highway 169/101st Ave in Brooklyn Park. This will help to improve traffic flow and safety in the west metro.
May Town Hall
This upcoming Tuesday, May 29th, at 6:00 PM I will be holding my monthly town hall at Maple Grove Community Center. These are always great events and I hope to see you there!
Please continue to share your thoughts with me about our state government; bill ideas and concerns are welcomed! I am honored to serve you at the Capitol. If you are going to be at or around the Capitol, please stop by or schedule a meeting. My email address is Rep.Dennis.Smith@house.mn, phone number 651-296-5502, and by mail: 375 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.
Have a great weekend!
Dennis