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| SENATE REPUBLICANS PASSED A COMPLETE BUDGET SOLUTION; GOV. DAYTON’S BUDGET PROPOSAL MISSING KEY COMPONENTS | ||||||||||||
(St. Paul) – Today, Senate Republicans updated Minnesotans on their complete balanced budget plan which has passed the Minnesota Senate. They also expressed concerns over the lack of apparent legislative support that the Minority caucus has to advance Governor Mark Dayton’s budget recommendations. Specifically, Republicans pointed to missing components of Gov. Dayton’s proposals which have either not been introduced, or are not being actively advanced by members of the Senate DFL Caucus.
Since the first day of session, Senate Republicans have held more than 320 committee hearings, where budget bills had hundreds of hours of testimony and discussion. Senate Committees have heard from over 300 people scheduled to speak about various proposals. As a result, the majority caucus passed all 10 budget bills that meet the committee’s previously announced budget target.
“From the moment we took the oath of office, we made a commitment to the people of Minnesota and to our Senate colleagues that we would offer a better process and a better work product,” said Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch (R-Buffalo). “I am extremely proud to say that we did what we said we were going to do; ensure that government lives within its means by balancing the state budget with existing resources, without raising taxes.”
“Traditionally, Governors are directly engaged with their party’s legislative members to advance their policies and priorities,” said Deputy Majority Leader Geoff Michel (R-Edina). “There is no evidence to support that Governor Dayton is actively working with DFL Legislative members to advance his budget proposals.”
“Forecasted spending in Health and Human Services is 31.6 percent of the General Fund and if left unchecked, is scheduled to increase by 22 percent, which is both unacceptable and unsustainable,” said Senator David Hann (R-Eden Prairie), Chair of the Health and Human Services Budget Committee. “Our bill recognizes the ability of everyone, including low income Minnesotans, to make decisions about their own health care and significantly reforms the way public health care is carried out in Minnesota.”
Hann added: “We all understand that the Governor and members of the Minority party may not like this proposal. However, there has been absolutely no counteroffer from Governor Dayton and the Senate DFL Caucus introduced for us to consider.”
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Senate Republican Complete Budget Plan vs Governor Dayton's Incomplete Budget Plan
