Minnesota Lawyer

Gov. Mark Dayton sent a letter to Republican legislative leaders in which he outlined some conditions for entering into negotiations on the state budget.

Lawmakers from the Iron Range are fuming over a move by Republicans to use dedicated northern Minnesota economic development dollars to help solve the $5 billion budget deficit.

The House Health and Human Services Finance Committee is expected to vote on the $10.7 billion budget bill this afternoon. The hearing will likely be a long slog. There are currently more than five dozen amendments listed on the committee page to be vetted.

Minnesota Senate Republicans rolled out a tax package Wednesday that cuts business property taxes, reduces state aid to local governments and gives cities the option to raise local sales taxes.

The House and Senate have undertaken the task of chopping each others' budget in their respective state government finance bills. Of particular note on the spreadsheet is the House cuts the other body more as a percentage than its own cut.

DFL Gov. Mark Dayton said that it is a "fantasy island" scenario for Republicans to believe that the state will receive a waiver from the federal government in time for the start of the next biennium in July.

Department of Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson sent a letter to Rep. Jim Abeler today chastising him for the lack of fiscal notes scrutinizing key provisions of the House's health and human services finance bill. Specifically Jesson took issue with four provisions designed to save $1.2 billion -- roughly 75 percent of the GOP's overall budget reduction target -- that haven't been thoroughly vetted by fiscal staff.

In a trend that has persisted for more than 10 years, the richest Minnesotans are paying a lower percentage of their incomes in state and local taxes than the rest of the state's residents, according to the biennial Tax Incidence Study prepared by the Department of Revenue.

The Republicans' budget resolution passed the House Ways and Means Committee over the objection of Rep. Mark Buesgens, R-Jordan.

Gov. Mark Dayton says Republican leaders in the Legislature are proposing "drastic" cuts to the budget, while providing tax cuts to the wealthiest Minnesotans.