Court Overturns Governor's Veto of Funding for Legislature

Ramsey County Judge John Guthmann issued his ruling Wednesday, July 19, on the Legislature vs. Governor Dayton lawsuit, citing that the governor's veto of funding for the Minnesota Legislature violated the Separation of Powers clause of the Minnesota Constitution. Governor Dayton used the line-item veto of legislative funding for the two-year budget period as leverage to bring lawmakers back to the negotiating table to reconsider a handful of measures in the recently signed tax bill. Dayton said he signed the tax bill due to a "poison pill" tactic in the state government bill, which would have unfunded the Minnesota Department of Revenue if the tax bill had been vetoed.

In his ruling, Judge Guthmann stated, "the court holds that Governor Dayton improperly used his line-item veto authority to gain a repeal or modification of unrelated policy legislation by effectively eliminating a co-equal branch of government. Therefore, under the unique and limited circumstances of this case, the Governor's line-item veto of the Legislature's appropriations offended the Separation of Powers clause of the Minnesota Constitution. They are null and void."

Following the release ruling, Speaker of the House Kurt Daudt spoke with the media, saying he is pleased with the court's decision. "The bottom line is that Minnesotans won today."

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka issued a statement, saying, "Today the court ruled an entire branch of government cannot be eliminated by a stroke of the governor's pen. The governor should accept this verdict and allow the people of Minnesota to move on, instead of continuing to waste taxpayer dollars on expensive litigation. However, if he chooses to appeal, we will continue to defend Minnesotans' constitutional rights to locally elected representation all the way to the Supreme Court."

Governor Mark Dayton also issued a statement: "Today's District Court ruling is only a preliminary step in this case's judicial process...I have asked Sam Hanson, my legal counsel, to appeal this decision to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

It is unfortunate that Republican Legislative Leaders are using this ruling to avoid completing their work by correcting their serious errors in the last Legislative Session. From the beginning of my administration, I have worked hard to restore sound fiscal integrity to our State Government. My line-item veto was targeted to achieve this result. As I have said, the tax bill passed last May by Republican Legislators jeopardizes Minnesota's structurally balanced budget in the future. By working together, Republican Leaders could join with me to remove fiscally irresponsible tax cuts and also to eliminate the un-Minnesotan attacks on our state's immigrant communities and our dedicated teachers..."