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May
1,
2017
Dear
friends
and
neighbors,
Conference
committees
are
continuing
their
work
this
week,
finalizing
major
omnibus
bills
that
will
authorize
funding
for
different
areas
of
government.
On
Friday,
the
House
and
the
Senate
announced
joint
budget
targets
for
each
spending
area.
With
these
targets,
conference
committee
chairs
know
exactly
how
much
money
they
can
spend
in
their
respective
bills.
Conference
committees
are
planning
to
get
their
bills
done
by
today
or
tomorrow.
Once
they
are
final,
we
send
the
bills
to
the
Governor
for
approval.
We
hoped
that
Governor
Dayton
would
engage
in
the
negotiation
process
two
weeks
ago,
when
conference
committees
just
began
meeting.
With
him
at
the
table
early,
conference
committees
can
include
his
priorities
into
the
bills
they
are
drafting,
and
the
final
product
becomes
a
bipartisan
effort
that
can
swiftly
be
signed
into
law.
Last
week,
all
twelve
freshman
Republican
senators,
including
myself,
authored
a
letter
to
Governor
Dayton,
Speaker
Daudt,
and
Majority
Leader
Gazelka
encouraging
the
leaders
to
turn
a
new
leaf
by
beginning
to
work
together
now,
rather
than
waiting
for
the
11th
hour
to
push
major
legislation
through.
By
delaying
budget
talks,
we
risk
end-of-session
chaos
and
special
sessions
to
finish
up
our
work.
But
Minnesotans
are
tired
of
a
legislature
that
can’t
get
anything
done.
Freshman
senators
made
it
clear
that
we
were
sent
here
to
do
a
job,
and
voters
expect
us
to
get
it
done.
Enough
gridlock.
Enough
with
the
political
games.
The
full
letter
can
be
found here.
Senate
Republicans
have
advocated
for
transparency
and
efficiency
throughout
this
critical
process.
Conference
committee
are
designed
to
get
all
sides
together
to
hash
out
differences
and
finalize
legislation
in
public
view.
Without
the
Governor’s
early
cooperation
in
conference
committee,
discussions
on
final
legislation
are
left
to
the
last
minute
and
include
only
him,
Speaker
Daudt,
and
Leader
Gazelka.
These
backroom
discussions
aren’t
good
for
Minnesota.
But
the
Governor
requested
the
legislature
work
on
its
own
to
establish
joint
budget
targets
between
the
House
and
the
Senate
before
he
gets
involved
in
the
process.
We
adapted
to
his
position
and
got
targets
done
very
quickly.
Once
conference
committees
finish
up,
we
anticipate
the
Governor
will
begin
participating
in
these
critical
negotiations
and
help
us
create
a
budget
that
all
sides
can
agree
to.
We
need
Governor
Dayton
to
work
with
us
to
get
a
responsible,
bipartisan
budget
passed
to
advance
Minnesota.
We
hope
he
will
engage
with
the
legislature
soon
to
get
the
work
we
were
sent
here
to
do
done
on
time.
In
the
meantime,
please
take
a
look
at
the
joint
budget
targets
the
House
and
the
Senate
have
agreed
to.
 Joint
Budget
Targets
On
Friday,
the
House
and
the
Senate
announced
their
joint
budget
targets.
See
the
chart
to
the
right
to
view
our
numbers.
Republicans
have
prioritized
tax
relief
and
transportation
in
our
budget.
We
have
proposed
a
$1.15
billion
tax
relief
bill
to
give
back
to
Minnesota
taxpayers
and
boost
the
economy.
In
addition,
we
are
spending
$372
million
to
improve
our
roads
and
bridges
statewide.
Instead
of
continuing
to
throw
money
at
the
bureaucracy,
we
have
cut
the
state
government
budget
and
found
savings
in
our
jobs
and
environment
budget.
Meanwhile,
we
focus
on
education
with
an
over
$1
billion
bump
to
K-12
funding
and
investments
in
our
higher
education
budget
to
help
control
the
costs
of
tuition
for
Minnesota
students.
We
look
forward
to
presenting
these
numbers
to
the
Governor
and
seeing
what
kind
of
compromise
we
can
achieve
for
Minnesota.
Be
sure
to
keep
in
touch
for
all
the
latest
updates
on
these
budget
negotiations.
Sincerely,
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