Republicans and Governor Mark Dayton try again this week to agree on a bonding package that failed in the final minutes of the legislative session, plus a tax cut bill the governor later “pocket-vetoed.” House Speaker, Republican Kurt Daudt says, “89 percent of the legislature voted for that bill, and the governor vetoed it — the most bipartisan tax bill ever vetoed by a governor in the state.” Dayton responds the tax cut bill had a major error, but he’s also trying to gain leverage by telling lawmakers he won’t call them back into special session to fix it, until they agree to a bonding bill that meets his requirements. Daudt says about that: “What I don’t like is a governor who says, I absolutely must have every one of my demands (and) if you meet every one of those demands, then I will call a special session. No, let’s talk about it together and let’s actually work together like Minnesotans elected us to do.”
The two sides took a week-long “cooling off” period, as Dayton traveled the state pushing for what he calls important investments. House Republicans and Senate Democrats have a hearing tomorrow on a bonding package. The starting point is the bill that failed in the closing minutes of the regular session. Dayton and legislative leaders meet again Wednesday.