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State Senator Roger J. Reinert District 07 149 State Office Bldg. 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. St. Paul, MN 55155-1206 Telephone (651) 296-4188 sen.roger.reinert@senate.mn |
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| Senator Reinert Takes a Stand Against Budget Tricks and Gimmicks | ||||||||||||
Today, Senator Roger Reinert took a stand for an honest budget process in the Minnesota Senate, by voting against budget amendments offered by both parties.
“Minnesotans need to have an honest conversation about what we want and how we pay for it,” Senator Reinert said. “We need to stop playing Pawlenty-style games; relying on tricks and gimmicks and stealing dedicated special revenues to cover general fund deficits.”
The Senate passed omnibus budget bills for Judiciary, Environment and Natural Resources, Commerce, Energy and Higher Education. Many amendments were offered in an attempt to restore funding for specific programs. While Senator Reinert supports funding for the various programs, if the amendment raised revenue via a fee or surcharge, Senator Reinert voted “No.” He also voted No on the final passage of each bill. All three bills passed the full Senate.
“Voting for these amendments to me means voting for two more years of really bad fiscal policy,” Senator Reinert said. “Our budget bills need to be structurally sound in order for the State of Minnesota’s budget to be structurally sound.”
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