ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The Latest on the Minnesota Legislature’s rush to finish up its work (all times local):
10:20 p.m.
The Minnesota House has failed to override Gov. Mark Dayton’s veto of funding to reimburse local offices who struggled with the state’s new driver registration system.
It’s just the second attempted override in Dayton’s tenure. With just 79 House members voting to override Dayton on Sunday, it fell short of the required 90-vote margin. Most Democrats voted against overriding Dayton’s veto.
Dayton struck down the bill Saturday, saying lawmakers should have paired it with funding to fix MNLARS. That money is in a separate bill passed by the Legislature.
MNLARS was plagued by problems since its summer launch. GOP Rep. Dave Baker says lawmakers owe it to deputy registrars to reimburse them for their extra costs due to problems with the system.
9:20 p.m.
Gov. Mark Dayton says he’d veto major tax and government spending bills unless the Republican Legislature changes course.
Dayton issued the veto threat with just three hours remaining in the Legislature’s session. It raises the specter that some of the session’s top priorities will go unfinished.
Lawmakers have to sync Minnesota’s tax code with the federal government to avert a complicated tax filing season next year and tax hikes for thousands of residents. And a spending package includes some key initiatives like funding school safety improvements.
But Dayton says the tax bill doesn’t capture enough foreign profits and says a 1,000-page budget bill is riddled with concerns.
The two sides have until midnight to strike a deal. Dayton will have 14 days to decide to sign bills.
6:25 p.m.
The Minnesota Legislature has sent Dayton a bill that modestly cuts income tax rates for many Minnesotans and gives struggling public schools more money.
Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a separate, GOP-backed tax measure last week, saying lawmakers must first provide $138 million for school districts facing budget deficits. Republicans wedged some school support into a similar tax bill.
The House and Senate passed that bill Sunday just hours ahead of a midnight deadline to finish their work. The bill also syncs Minnesota’s tax code with the federal government to avert a potentially complicated 2019 tax filing season.
Dayton has expressed concern about the bill but the outcome won’t be clear for weeks. The governor has up to two weeks to decide whether to sign the bill.
4:20 p.m.
Minnesota lawmakers are retrying with a tax bill by folding in funding for schools suffering budget shortfalls.
Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed the GOP-backed tax measure last week, saying lawmakers must first provide $138 million for school districts. The bill would have modestly cut income tax rates while syncing Minnesota’s tax code with sweeping federal changes.
Stakes are high because failure to pass a bill could make 2019 tax filing complicated for Minnesota residents. Republicans wedged some additional school funding into a similar tax bill. Dayton’s administration says much of that funding is simply shifting money schools already have.
The House passed that bill Sunday afternoon on an 85-40 vote. The Senate was expected to follow suit.
The Legislature must finish its work by midnight Sunday.
10:56 a.m.
Minnesota lawmakers were headed into the final leg of the Legislative session that may end in a stalemate with work left undone.
Facing a midnight deadline to pass bills on Sunday, Republican leaders and Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton have yet to find common ground on several key issues. Conforming Minnesota’s tax code to sweeping federal changes was at the top of the to-do list, as well as funding schools facing budget shortfalls.
Republicans were sprinting to resend a tax bill that Dayton rejected last week, which includes some funding for public schools.
The House and Senate also sent Dayton a nearly thousand page bill containing a wide range of government spending early Sunday morning.
Dayton says he will veto it. He left the tax bill’s fate up in the air.
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