ewaldatthecapitol
June 1, 2007
Ewald Government
Relations Team
Vetoes, Large and Small
Tax Bill
Although the Legislature adjourned on time
on May 21, many bills made their way to the
Governor for his signature, or veto, over the
ensuing ten days. Pawlenty line-item vetoed
several spending provisions in the E-12 and
higher educations financing bills, the Health
and Human Services financing bill, and the
state government finance bill. He vetoed the
entire tax bill on May 30.
Included in the tax bill were items like $70
million in local aid to cities, $15 million in
county program aid, subsidies for the Mall
of America and Thomson West, and financial assistance to Cook County after the
devastating fires near the Gunflint Trail. The
Legislature added a provision to require the
Governor to include inflation in his budget
proposals—which Pawlenty had warned them
would draw a veto. It was the main reason
the entire bill was vetoed.
Since the Tax bill was “revenue neutral,” its
veto will not put the state’s budget out of
balance and therefore precipitate a special
session. Governor Tim Pawlenty and House
Speaker Margaret Kelliher (DFL-Minneapolis)
stated that they do not think a special session
is necessary, but that if there was a clear
agreement on some technical bills, that they
would not rule it out.
Below is an overview of the major spending bills that the Governor line-item vetoed
recently, as well as his overall veto of the
tax bill.
Feel free to contact any
member of our team:
E-12 Education Finance Bill
Although the Governor signed the education
bill, he said he did so reluctantly. He stated
that it did not include a per pupil increase
at the level he proposed and that it did not
include any real reform or accountability.
Governor Pawlenty line-item vetoed funding
for the Office of Educational Accountability, a
task force on education finance, and incentives for teachers to obtain national certificaContinued on page 2
They said it:
“I am supportive of many of the tax provisions in the bill ...unfortunately,
the bill contains a policy provision that would put government growth on
autopilot.” – Gov. Pawlenty, in his veto message to the Legislature explaining his
veto of the Tax Bill due to the inclusion of a provision that would take inflation
into account in state budget forecasting.
David Ewald
651-290-6276
[email protected]
Valerie Dosland
651-265-7857
[email protected]
Becca Pryse
651-265-7858
[email protected]
Bill Amberg
651-203-7251
[email protected]
Eric Ewald
651-290-6266
[email protected]
Jens Midthun
Intern
651-290-7852
[email protected]
Key Legislative
Contact Info
House Information Office
651-296-2146
Senate Information Office
651-296-0504
State Legislature Website
www.leg.mn
1000 Westgate Drive, Ste. 252 • St. Paul, MN 55114 • 651-290-6260 • Fax: 651-290-2266 • [email protected] • www.ewald.com
ewaldatthecapitol
Continued from page 1
tion. Lastly, he vetoed funding for a merger of the Hennepin
County and Minneapolis Public Library systems.
line-item veto pen. The Governor vetoed provisions for MFIP
spending that totaled more than $9.5 million.
In addition, the Governor vetoed outright a bill that would
have established a statewide health insurance pool for local
school district employees.
Additionally, he vetoed more than $2.2 million in funding for
public health education campaigns.
Higher Education Finance Bill
The Governor made a few line-item vetoes on loan forgiveness and internship programs for university students and
signed the overall bill into law on May 30.
Health and Human Services Finance Bill
Gov. Pawlenty trimmed more than $15.5 million from the
Health and Human Services (HHS) spending bill with his
The Veto
The word veto is derived from the Latin word “vetare,” meaning “to forbid.” Translated literally, veto means “I forbid.”
Gov. Pawlenty clearly forbade some spending and policy provisions that came out of the 2007 session of the Legislature.