Dear Neighbor,
As I write to you tonight (Wednesday, June 10) I am pleased to say that after weeks of face-to-face negotiations, the governor has agreed to call a special legislative session on Friday. The call for special session will be issued once all legislative leaders have signed off on the specific terms and conditions so as to start and complete the session as expeditiously as possible.
The need for this special session was prompted by the fact Governor Dayton vetoed three bipartisan budget bills due to various objections he had not indicated were issues prior to the vetoes.
The most significant area of disagreement between the legislature and the governor was the education funding package. During session, the Republican-led House and the Democrat-led Senate worked together to put forward a bipartisan education funding package of $17.1 billion – a $1.3 billion increase over current spending. Because he viewed the funding levels as insufficient and wanted a universal all-day pre-Kindergarten program for four-year-olds, Governor Dayton vetoed the bill.
Since the veto of the education bill, House Speaker Kurt Daudt and I worked hard to find a good-faith compromise. We had a breakthrough last week when the governor conceded to House Republicans on education spending. This came after we announced we would accept the governor’s last-night-of-session offer of $525 million in spending above base for the 2016-2017 E-12 budget – with the condition that there would be not be a new preschool program. This was a costly initiative with significant questions about its effectiveness. Additionally, the governor’s efforts were opposed by both Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate, as well as by many school district officials across the state.
Once we were able to come to an agreement on the education bill – the major point of contention during post-session negotiations – we had good reason to believe we could work through the minor differences on the two other vetoed bills (which were sent to the governor with bipartisan support) in an efficient manner in anticipation of a special session.
Unfortunately, one last hurdle remained in order for the governor to call a special session. The governor wanted the legislature to agree to repeal part of the recently-enacted State Government Finance Bill before calling a special session. The governor objected to a provision relating to the State Auditor’s authority to conduct county audits.
Under previous law, the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) had exclusive authority over audits of counties but had the ability to release individual counties so they could use private CPA firms. In the last audit cycle, the OSA released 28 counties to use private CPA firms
The new law, which does not take effect until 2016, gives counties the ability to choose whether they would like to have their audit conducted by the OSA or by a private CPA firm. This is the exact same authority used by all Minnesota cities and school districts, literally hundreds of government jurisdictions. If a county chooses to use a private CPA firm, that firm must still meet the standards of the OSA and the State Auditor has the authority to make additional examinations. Counties will still have to pay for any additional examinations conducted by the OSA.
Ultimately, this is a way for counties to save money and potentially ease the property tax burden on local residents.
On Monday, Speaker Daudt and I announced that we would not agree to repeal that provision of the law governor signed just weeks ago. Hours later, the governor conceded and said he would no longer require the special session be contingent upon repeal of the State Auditor provision.
While I’m glad the governor lifted his demand, I was disturbed by his attempt to circumvent the spirit of our state’s constitution. The governor has the power to line-item veto specific spending provisions within appropriations bills. However, the constitution does not empower him to line-item veto policy provisions. It would have set a very bad precedent for our state to permit a governor to “backdoor” veto a policy provision by requiring the legislature to agree to repeal a portion of a signed law as a condition of a special session that should be focused on passing budget bills.
I’m pleased we’ll be able to pass budget bills and avoid a shutdown. And, while negotiations are never easy, and each side has to concede, this year has been particularly difficult. I’ve certainly been frustrated with the governor constantly moving the goal posts and repeatedly changing either his position on an issue, bringing back previously agreed to items for repeated discussion, or introducing brand new issues. Thankfully, our state will have some certainty on Friday.
As we work our way toward a special session, please don’t hesitate to contact me on issues of concern to you. My direct line is 651-296-7806. My email address is rep.joyce.peppin@house.mn and my mailing address is Room 459 State Office Building, 100 Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, St. Paul, MN 55155
Have a wonderful weekend,
Joyce
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