ST. PAUL – Following an agreement between Governor Dayton and legislative leadership on a small number of budget proposals that had remained outstanding, the Minnesota Legislature approved the spending proposals in a one day special session.
"Before session ended in mid-May, the House and Senate had reached bipartisan budget agreements," said State Representative Dave Hancock (R-Bemidji) said. "But the governor chose to veto three of them and re-open negotiations. Most of them have not changed significantly since leaving the House floor, but now the governor is on board with the proposals and it is expected he will sign them into law."
On June 12, Hancock and a majority of other lawmakers helped approve spending bills relating to K-12 Education, jobs and energy, and environment and agriculture. Legislation that allocates Legacy funding dollars and bonding proceeds also received strong bipartisan support.
Hancock said the new budget represents one of the lowest spending increases in decades.
"When you look at general fund spending from the last budget cycle to the next, the projected increase is the third lowest over the past 50 years," Hancock said. "While we held the line on spending, we also prevented the largest gas tax increase in state history from becoming law. Next session we'll keep working on a long range roads and bridges solution that doesn’t increase the tax burden of middle-class Minnesotans."