Dear Neighbors:
There is now less than a week remaining until the end of the legislative session. Budget negotiations between Governor Dayton and the Republican majority in the House and Senate have restarted today, after the Governor’s veto of the Republican budget bills last week and yesterday.
The Governor outlined his numerous reasons for vetoing these bills in the veto letters I am sharing with you below. It is important to remember that Governor Dayton & his administration have detailed their concerns about the Republican budget bills in 190 pages of letters and nearly 1,700 meetings with Republican leaders throughout this legislative session.
With these bills now vetoed, negotiations will proceed toward a final product that I hope can strike a better compromise to satisfy both Republicans and Governor Dayton, treat Minnesota families more equitably, and lead us to finish our work on time.
However, there are still hurdles before the timely finish of the legislative session on May 22nd. For starters, legislators have yet to see a final bonding bill set before us for a vote. The bonding bill is doubly important this year because of the lack of a completed bonding bill last year. This legislation invests in the repair of critical infrastructure in communities throughout the state and creates thousands of good-paying jobs in the process. We need to act now before interest rate increases make these infrastructure projects even more expensive for Minnesota taxpayers.
Republicans and the Governor must also reach an agreement to adequately fund our E-12 schools and state colleges and universities. The funding in the Republican education bills the Governor has vetoed didn’t even keep pace with the cost of inflation, and didn’t account for growth in the number of students. We must do better than that if we are going to adequately support our state’s most important asset – our students.
Veto Letters from Governor Dayton:
Last week, Governor Mark Dayton vetoed the following five bills:
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Chapter 41, SF 780: This is the omnibus agriculture finance bill. To read Governor Dayton’s veto letter, click here.
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Chapter 42, HF 888: This is the omnibus environment and natural resources finance bill. To read Governor Dayton’s veto letter, click here.
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Chapter 43, HF 890: This is the omnibus E-12 education finance bill. To read Governor Dayton’s veto letter, click here.
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Chapter 44, SF605: This is the omnibus state government, military and veterans affairs finance bill. To read Governor Dayton’s veto letter, click here.
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Chapter 45, SF 800: This is the omnibus health and human services finance bill. To read Governor Dayton’s veto letter, click here.
Then yesterday, after the Senate was able to return to work, he vetoed the following five bills:
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Chapter 62, HF 861: This is the omnibus transportation finance bill. To read Governor Dayton’s veto letter, click here.
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Chapter 63, SF 803: This is the omnibus public safety and judiciary finance bill. To read Governor Dayton’s veto letter, click here.
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Chapter 64, SF 1937: This is the omnibus jobs and energy finance bill. To read Governor Dayton’s veto letter, click here.
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Chapter 65, SF 2214: This is the omnibus higher education finance bill. To read Governor Dayton’s veto letter, click here.
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Chapter 66, HF 4: This is the omnibus tax bill. To read Governor Dayton’s veto letter, click here.
It is important to keep in mind that there is added financial pressure on all of these budget bills due to the raiding of tax revenues that would be shifted to transportation projects and tax cuts for the wealthy in the Republican plan. There is a reluctance on the part of the majority party in both houses to realize that the dedicated funds from the per-gallon gas tax is the most fair and stable means of funding our statewide transportation needs. These proposed policies put the rest of our state budget priorities at risk- including education, healthcare, and care for the elderly.
Please continue to contact me with any questions or concerns. Thank you for the honor of serving our region.
Sincerely,
Mike Sundin
State Representative