The Last Week

If things go as planned, today will be our final day

of the session. I have learned that in the
Legislature things seldom go as planned - so I give
it a 50% chance of happening today. We have
closed our finance and bonding bills and have
completed all conference committees. However,
the Governor let us know yesterday that he felt
some of his top priorities were not included. This
message was received late in the process and
agreements had already been made in most
areas. Therefore, last minute changes were made
and those that couldnt be agreed to were not
adopted. We have three branches of government,
as you know, and within each come a set of tools.
We can pass laws, a majority necessary for most
and 60% for bonding bills. Because this super
majority is necessary, negotiations are even more
fragile and tenuous. The Leaders from both
houses had agreed on a global framework to
finish the session. It may seem simple to reopen
and accommodate, but it is much harder in
practice.

As a member of the Finance Conference
committee we have been meeting into the wee
hours of the morning every day all week and the
prior week. Yesterday was our final day and the
late negotiations caused a very difficult challenge.
After much consternation, and adopting several
new amendments we closed our bill up late last
evening. The Governor can employ his final tool
and veto these bills. He could also line item veto
any provision that has money associated with it.
So as I write this and we watch what happens in
the coming days, I would not be surprised if we
see some vetoes and read some harsh statements
issued between the parties. Next week, after the
dust has settled our office will send a complete
summary of what is in and what is out.

The Governor did state that he preferred a
smaller spending target. Please understand that
in a surplus environment of over one billion
dollars we have put forward spending of $283m.
With some of it being one time, using this
occasion to take care of high need initiatives
such as potholes, augmenting second harvest,
investing in early childhood education,
launching the MN model of higher education
apprenticeships (PIPELINE), and most
importantly enacting an ongoing 5% raise for
people who care for those with disabilities, we
have strategically adopted principles of fiscal
sound management. When you have a surplus,
guiding principles should include, saving, and
paying off debt, in Governments case, cutting
taxes and prudent spending. We cut taxes, put
money into the reserves, put cash into the
bonding bill to reduce debt and spent
strategically.

This approach is in contrast with how I
perceived the actions of last session. I did
believe we enacted taxes that were imprudent
last session and adopted spending targets that
were greater than I would have liked. The
surplus we are dealing with this session is a
direct result of the income tax increase last
session. Given my commitment to make MN a
beacon among states, a magnet for new
enterprise, and a mecca for expansion of
existing enterprise, I am hopeful we reconsider
and reform our tax code in the coming year. We
do not need swings in revenue, we need
ongoing strength and stability so that we can
fulfill the promise that we all bring to our great
State.

















Next week, when the final summary is sent, hopefully we will learn that our provisions will have survived
the final hurdle of Governor acceptance.




Bonding Bill Summary
Click here to view the Bonding Bill. A strong commitment to higher education and our students is
reflected in this bill. We must invest in our infrastructure to maintain the high quality post
secondary environment necessary to excel in a 21
st
century environment. Yet equally, if not more
important, is the urgency needed to transform the way we deliver post secondary education. As we
have discussed, the current system and associated costs are unsustainable. You can count on my
leadership to make this a top priority. I do not have the answers and I welcome your counsel in this
endeavor.

I am pleased to report that the St. David Center expansion is included in the final bonding bill. St.
Davids is a shining example of a how a modern, transformative approach to providing early
intervention and educational services to young children can be housed in an old redesigned
building, making an extraordinary difference in the lives of our children and their families.

Please also note the significant investment in housing. It is unacceptable in our country, in our
state, to have people living without their own shelter. I pledge to do all I can to eradicate
homelessness.