Rep. Paul Rosenthal (49B) – Legislative Update
A week remains for the Legislature and the Governor to come together on the two year budget. Budget negotiations between Governor Dayton and the legislative majority leadership had been moving forward until late Monday night last week. The GOP legislative leaders then abruptly ended negotiations and finalized their bills, despite a guarantee of vetoes in their current versions from the Governor. These bills were regrettably passed with neither public hearings nor advanced notice. With no surprise, all ten of the budget bills were vetoed: transportation finance bill; public safety and judiciary finance bill; jobs and energy finance bill; higher education finance bill; tax bill; agriculture finance bill; environment and natural resources finance bill; E-12 education finance bill; state government, military and veterans affairs finance bill; health and human services finance bill.
While I have deep concerns with the legislative majority’s budget bills, I was disappointed by the halt of negotiations. Looking forward, negotiations have resumed today, and a joint budget target deadline of Wednesday has been set among the legislature and Governor.
Governor Dayton and his administration have outlined their own specific concerns in 190 pages of letters and nearly 1,700 meetings with Republican leaders during the 2017 legislative session. I am hopeful this renewed effort of working toward compromise will help us finish our work on time.
I’ll continue to be engaged with our legislative leaders and Governor Dayton as we work for a compromise that prioritizes the things Minnesotans value in order to build a better future for everyone.
Please stay in touch as we approach the end of the session. I appreciate your input.
Sincerely,
Paul