Politics & Government

Roseville Senator Not Happy With Outcome or Process to End Shutdown

John Marty attacks secret budget negotiations.

Minnesota state government workers are back on the job following the end of the budget stalemate this week between Gov. Mark Dayton and the Republican-majority Minnesota Legislature.

But District 54 Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, was not happy with the outcome or process used to reach the settlement. 

Marty said he has introduced legislation that calls for an end, in the future, to all closed-door budget negotiations between legislative leaders and between the governor and legislative leaders.

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The latest round of secret budget negotiations “was supposed to improve the situation, but it didn’t,” Marty said.

Instead, Marty said he heard from plenty of constituents who were upset with the lack of transparency and openness in the budget process.  Marty intends to pursue his bill during the 2012 legislative session.

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Meanwhile, Marty said he opposed most of the 12 bills submitted to legislators to end the shutdown. He only supported the state bonding and Legacy/environment bills, he said.

Marty said he opposed the biennial budget because it is borrowing too much money through shifts in government aid to school districts and from the state tobacco litigation fund.

Meanwhile, state budgets for health and human services and higher education, for example, took big cuts, Marty said.

“The problems are getting worse,” he said. “We are doing nothing to solve these problems.”

Listed below are the 12 legislative bills and the votes that passed them:   

Special Session Bills

Senate Judiciary/Public Safety bill: 57-7

House Judiciary/Public Safety bill: 77-51

Senate Environment bill: 43-22

House K-12 education bill: 71-56

Senate State Government bill: 40-24

House State Government bill: 81-47

Senate Legacy bill: 65-0

House Legacy bill: 98-30

Senate Pension bill: 61-3

House Pension bill: 115-12

Senate Taxes bill: 37-27

House Taxes bill: 71-57

Senate Bonding bill: 53-11

House Bonding bill: 112-17


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