Dear Neighbors,
The 2018 legislative session adjourned for the year late Sunday evening. Over the weekend, we passed a number of bills that represent the values and priorities of Minnesotans. This included a tax/education bill, a supplemental omnibus finance bill, bonding bill, and pension bill—all of which were passed the last week of session.
Unfortunately, Governor Dayton vetoed two of the four bills—both the tax/education and supplemental omnibus finance bills. I am disappointed and frustrated with this news as the governor’s actions will have a demonstrably negative impact on Minnesotans.
Not only did the legislature compromise and remove nearly 70% of the provisions the governor found objectionable in the bills, we funded a number of important initiatives that both the legislature and governor believed were critically important to Minnesota. His decision to veto these bills hurts Minnesotans. Period
The tax bill provided a tax cut for 2.2 million Minnesotans while also conforming the state tax code to the changes at the federal level to ensure folks in the state were able to file taxes next year.
Additionally, our education funding plan provided an average of $96 in new per-pupil spending across the state, education dollars the governor repeatedly called an “emergency”. Now, these schools will receive no new money due to the veto by the governor.
The supplemental finance bill included a number of provisions that governor claimed were priorities. Unfortunately none of these priorities, that we all share, will become law.
Here is a brief list of people affected by Governor Dayton’s vetoes:
- People affected by Gov. Dayton’s vetoes:
- 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
- Taxpayers who will have a heck of a time 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
There are many, many more groups of people we could add to this list, but this gives you an idea of the widespread harm that will be caused as a result of his vetoes.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me to share any thoughts, concerns, or questions you may have. I can be reached by phone at either 651-296-4929 or 701-361-1909. I can also be reached via email at rep.jeff.backer@house.mn.
Have a great weekend,
Jeff