Republican lawmakers are calling on Democratic Governor Mark Dayton to call a special session and keep his word not to hold the bipartisan tax relief bill “hostage.” State Representative Steve Drazkowski is publicly calling on Dayton to “keep his word,” saying to Dayton, “Agree on exactly the same bill that passed with 89% support of the entire legislature and get it done. You Governor Dayton, call the session.” Drazkowski explains in May Governor Dayton said he would not use the tax relief bill as a negotiating piece for his own objectives.
On May 23rd Governor Dayton said in a press conference, “I’m not going to hold the tax cuts for people or the supplemental budget, the areas that they did fund, I’m not going to hold those hostage to the other considerations.”
Dayton vetoed the bill due to a technical error, however Republican State Representative Matt Dean (R – 38B), who is echoing Drazkowski’s sentiments, accuses Dayton of using the error as an excuse, telling Alpha News, “The governor agreed to sign the tax bill and then went back on his word, using an embarrassingly flimsy excuse that there was a typo in the bill. These typos always get fixed with a memo.”
Drazkowski wants Dayton to call the session and to let the lawmakers work out the details, saying that the practice of legislative leaders making backroom deals on behalf of their caucuses needs to end, stating, “You’ve got three people getting together basically coercing the votes of the entire 201 member delegation of the legislature.”
Governor Dayton did not respond to questions from Alpha News. Several news outlets have reported rumors of a special session being negotiated for the third week of August. Dean says he is told leadership is “close” to wrapping up negotiations. Subsrcibe to Alpha News for continued special session coverage.
