Minnesota Lawyer

On Wednesday state GOP chair Tony Sutton sent out an email to local Republican leaders across the state imploring them to engage the debate over the budget impasse at the Capitol. The "action plan memo" calls on GOP activists to create a grassroots campaign to counteract the $500,000 to $1 million advertising campaign that Alliance for a Better Minnesota is bankrolling to support DFL Gov. Mark Dayton's budget plan.

The state Republican party has created a new web site criticizing Gov. Mark Dayton for a likely government shutdown. The site references Dayton's decision to shut down his U.S. Senate office in 2004 as evidence of a pattern of unpredictable behavior under pressure.

Alliance for a Better Minnesota is spending between $500,000 and $1 million on ads criticizing the Republican-controlled Legislature's budget.

One day after the close of the legislative session, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed all nine budget bills passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature. Dayton's rejection of the Republican budget plan -- which eliminates the state's $5 billion budget deficit without any additional revenue -- sets up the prospect of a government shutdown when the fiscal year comes to a close at the end of June.

Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed nine budget bills that were passed by Republican legislators. In his veto letters he addresses problems with the bills.

With labor protesters chanting loudly outside the Minnesota House and Senate chambers, the clock struck midnight and ended the 2011 regular legislative session Monday evening with no deal to solve the $5 billion budget deficit and wide divide between the GOP-controlled Legislature and DFL Gov. Mark Dayton on how to close the gap.

Gov. Mark Dayton is "extremely pessimistic" that there will be a budget deal prior to the scheduled midnight adjournment of the Legislature. In addition, Dayton stated that he doesn't expect to call the House and Senate back for a special session until the framework of a deal to eliminate the state's $5 billion budget deficit is in place. Dayton addressed reporters with less than 12 hours left before the deadline.

With a liberal Democrat in the governor’s office and a young crowd of firebrand conservatives in control of the state Legislature, a collision was bound to occur sooner or later.

The House passed a flurry of finance bills in the early morning hours of Thursday, including the health and human services conference report. The chamber also passed legislation appropriating funds for state government and jobs and economic development.

The Senate passed the tax bill on a 37-28 party-line vote in the early morning hours of Thursday. It will now be sent to DFL Gov. Mark Dayton for an expected veto.