The Republican Legislature passed and Governor Dayton signed the 12 MN Budget Bills ending the state's longest government shutdown. Governor Dayton had accepted the Republican budget proposal which closed the remaining gap in negotiations by increasing the school funding shift by $700 million and issuing $700 million in bonds on future tobacco settlement payments with several conditions.
The increased school shift was on top of the previously-agreed to shift of $1.4 billion. This means that 60% of what we owe schools will be paid in the current year, and 40% of current due will be paid in the following year. The per-pupil funding will be increased by $128 million ($50/student) to offset some of the impact incurred by school districts needing to borrow for operating dollars.
The Governor’s conditions for acceptance were threefold:
That Republicans drop a list of policy demands, including those relating to women’s reproductive rights and stem cell research.
That language be removed from the State Government budget bill requiring a 15% state workforce reduction; and
That the Legislature put forward a $500 million bonding bill to fund capital projects and create construction jobs around the state.
Republicans accepted these conditions and passed the 12 separate bills covering the budget for different state functions. For details on each of the budget bills, download Senator Terri Bonoff's Update. Listen to House Minority Leader Paul Thissen's description of the Republican budget as "the beg, borrow, and steal" budget.
