Dear Neighbors,
End of Session
The end of the legislative session always brings about twists and turns. This year, we were able to pass our big initiatives like tax conformity, increased school funding, improve the state’s cybersecurity, and aid deputy registrars struggling to navigate MNLARS. Despite our efforts toward bipartisan compromise, Governor Dayton decided politics was more important than Minnesotans, vetoing our tax bill and our supplemental budget. Now, it’d be understandable if he had a laundry list of reasons to veto our bill. But that wasn’t the case. When asked to name four, five, even a dozen, provisions that caused his veto, he came up with a grand total of two. You can watch the clip for yourself here. It’s astounding.
Instead of cutting taxes, increasing school funding, and helping hardworking deputy registrars, Governor Dayton once again let his ego get in the way, vetoing our bipartisan attempts at compromise. I worked hard this session to improve our state’s cybersecurity through dedicated funding and to protect our electoral process. This veto puts Minnesotans’ personal information at even greater risk, which is something we can’t afford as a state.
I was especially disappointed by the veto because of the $94 per pupil increase it would have provided to the Waconia school district when all of the bills passed in the final days of session were taken into consideration.
Dayton now has to be the one that looks parents, teachers, and students in the eye to say that because he only got 70% of what he wanted, he’d rather they get nothing. I’m thankful this is the last time Dayton will have a chance to torpedo common sense bills to help Minnesotans. Enjoy your retirement, Governor.
Don’t be fooled, this was strictly a partisan move on his part. We addressed nearly 70% of Governor Dayton’s objections to our supplemental budget and he still vetoed it. And the problem is the vetoes hurt the likes of:
- Victims of elder abuse
- 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
- K-12 students who won’t benefit from school safety funding
- All taxpayers who will have difficulty 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
- People with disabilities, and their caretakers, who would be affected by a 7% cut to the Disability Waiver Rate System
Please Contact Me
Thanks you for your continued correspondence this session. It was so helpful to hear from you and use your insights in our work here at the Capitol. Although we’re not in session, please feel free to reach out if you need anything.
Memorial Day
Lastly, please be sure to take a second on Memorial Day to honor those who lost their lives in the service of our great nation. It’s hard to put into words the debt we owe to these heroes, and one day or weekend certainly isn’t enough to honor and remember all they’ve done. Also, be sure to head out to our local Memorial Day services around the district.
Enjoy your weekend,
Jim