In MN Supreme Court says Mark Dayton’s veto of legislative budget was constitutional, Rachel Stassen-Berger reports at the St. Paul Pioneer Press:
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Friday decided that Gov. Mark Dayton’s veto of the House and Senate budgets earlier this year was constitutional.
“We hold that the governor’s exercise of his line item veto authority … was constitutional,” Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea wrote. “This conclusion, however, does not end the matter.”
The justice wrote that the court does not believe it has the authority to order the Legislature funded, as did a previous district court, while the dispute goes on. Therefore it ordered Dayton, a Democrat, and the Republican Legislature back into talks with a mediator.
The order temporarily resolves the constitutional showdown over Dayton’s line-item veto of $130 million worth of legislative funding. But the case is still ongoing; the high court did not order the case remanded back to the Ramsey Court District Court that decided Dayton’s veto was unconstitutional. . . .
Stassen-Berger's thorough reporting is worth the read--and the decision is embedded at the end of the article. At Minnesota Public Radio, Brian Bakst reports in MN justices throw Dayton, Legislature funding fight to mediator:
The Minnesota Supreme Court said Friday that Gov. Mark Dayton was within his authority to line-item veto funding for the House and Senate. But justices ordered the parties engage in mediated negotiations to come up with a workable solution.
"The other branches should resolve these doubts through the political process," Chief Justice Lorie Gildea wrote for the court. "Thus far, they have not done so. As a result, Minnesotans may soon be deprived of their constitutional right to three independent branches of government."
She cited prior rulings that constitutional powers can't be used "to accomplish an unconstitutional result."
Dayton in May took the unprecedented step of canceling appropriations for the House and Senate, saying he wanted to force lawmakers back to the bargaining table. He was upset over other tax, spending and policy provisions in a new state budget but worried that vetoing full bills could force a partial shutdown.
The Republican-led Legislature quickly sued, arguing that Dayton overstepped his bounds and created an imbalance in the separation of powers. A lower court sided with the Legislature, but Dayton appealed. . . .
What were those policy provisions? Bakst and Tim Pugmire reported in Defund the Legislature? 'See you in court,' Daudt tells Dayton:
. . . The fight stems from Dayton's line-item veto of all funding to run the House and Senate the next two years. The governor said he felt betrayed by a provision in the same bill that would have wiped out money for his Department of Revenue unless he consented to a tax-cut package, which he did. . . .
Dayton said he is trying to set the stage for new negotiations over a special session where the Legislature's funding could be restored and he could try to undo some of the items he didn't like in the signed bills.
"I don't want to ultimately defund the Legislature, the House and the Senate," Dayton said, adding, "I want to get their attention and hopefully get the attention of Minnesotans focused on why these measures would be so detrimental to the future of our state."
The governor said he thinks the tax bill is unsustainable because business breaks will grow over time. He's also upset over a freeze in cigarette taxes, which were due to rise, and a cut in the rate assessed on premium cigars, which was slashed.
On policy, Dayton wants to revisit changes in the teacher licensure system and strip out a new law that strictly bars issuance of driver's licenses to immigrants living in the country without proper documentation. . . .
Minnesota House Minority Leader Melissa Hortman responded to the court's decision:
"Minnesotans expect their elected officials to collaborate on solutions to benefit everyone, but Republicans chose to go to court instead of negotiate in good faith with the Governor. This summer, I joined Governor Dayton in calling on the Republican majorities to return to the negotiating table and work to craft a long-term, sustainable budget for Minnesota. Given the Court's order, all sides must come together with a spirit of compromise and collaboration in order to reach an agreement that will better serve Minnesotans. I look forward to working with Governor Dayton, Senator Bakk, and Republican leadership to do so."
We can only hope.
Photo: The three horsemen of the cluster fluff ( Speaker of the House Kurt Daudt, Gov. Mark Dayton and Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka) governing like you've never seen it before. Photo by Scott Takushi of the Pioneer Press.
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