Dear Neighbors,
Minnesotans rightly expect the legislature to get its work done on time, but Republicans did not meet that expectation this year. After walking away from negotiations and wasting weeks passing bills they knew Governor Dayton would veto, it appears as if legislative Republicans are finally willing to negotiate with him in good faith.
Last night, legislative leaders and Governor Dayton agreed to broad terms for a special session, which started at 12:01 a.m. today and will go until 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. We still don’t know the details of these agreed upon terms, which is deeply concerning. All session I’ve worked for a budget that invests in the things folks in our communities value, such as education, transportation, a clean environment, and policies that ensure everyone has an opportunity to succeed. Republicans dug in their heels and demanded more than two-thirds of the budget surplus be used for giveaways to insurance companies, shifting money away from public schools to private ones, and other bad priorities like tax cuts for big tobacco, corporations, and the wealthy. When you contrast that with our priorities, you can understand how we arrived at this point in a Special Session.
We need legislative Republicans to come around and put forward bills that invest in the things that make Minnesota a great place to live, and I continue to be hopeful they will do what is right in the end. We have just under 12 hours left and we haven’t seen anything yet, but I’ll keep you updated as I continue working for our region here at the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Mike Sundin
State Representative – District 11A