Pawlenty Veto Could Mean Higher Property Taxes
Thursday, May 31, 2007 at 11:11 am
- 6 Comments
Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed a tax bill Wednesday night over language that would have required the state to take inflation into account when preparing a budget, as it had before 2002.
“When legislators and the Governor assemble the state budget, we shouldn’t assume that every program should grow on autopilot. We need to examine every taxpayer dollar that will be spent and ensure that we are streamlining and keeping government efficient and effective,” said Pawlenty.
Accusing Democrats of failing to heed his warnings about the language, Pawlenty said, “When complaints come about provisions lost as a result of this veto, I would encourage people to contact DFL leaders who chose to keep controversial policy language in rather than passing a clean bill.”
Pawlenty’s veto at least temporarily halts additional property tax relief for homeowners, as well as an increase in the ceiling for renters’ credits. It also stops an increase in Local Government Aid, which may force cities and counties to raise property taxes further to maintain current service levels.
The veto also blocks $500,000 in aid to the Grand Marais area to help with recovery after wildfires and provide tax relief for those whose homes were damaged or destroyed in the fire; additional property tax relief for disabled veterans; tax credits for those serving in the military and Tax Increment Financing Districts in a number of cities. The veto also stopped tax relief for a $140 million addition to the Thomson West campus in Eagan, as well as the $1.8 billion expansion of the Mall of America in Bloomington, and tax support for the 2008 Republican National Convention.
Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis, expressed disappointment in the veto.“Allowing for inflation when constructing a budget is a conservative, honest, common sense standard that is employed by most responsible governments and businesses,” Pogemiller said. “This bill would have provided some tax fairness by making sure corporations paid their fair share and by giving homeowners some property tax relief. It’s unfortunate the Governor vetoed a bill with widespread bi-partisan support in the Senate.”
Pawlenty could call the legislature into a special session to craft a new tax bill that omitted the language he objected to, but he has not indicated that he would do so. If the legislature was called back, it would be able to deal with any other issues it wanted to.
6 Comments
Comment posted May 31, 2007 @ 12:14 pm
T-Paw is the one not heeding the call Crab: T-Paw is accusing people of not heeding his call? That sounds almost unreal.
What about his campaign promise of not hiking the tax? Is he gonna blame that on DFLers?
Comment posted May 31, 2007 @ 7:12 pm
Ego and ambition over the needs of MN every time. Is there any chance that this veto could be overridden?
I’m always amazed at what an uncompromising jerk Pawlenty is. There hasn’t been a smooth legislative session since he’s been in a position of leadership, even before he was Governor. He’s always willing to shaft the needs of the greater population of the state in order to keep his republican resume pure and to keep the top 10% content.
So-freaking-what if they didn’t ‘heed my warnings’. The legislature was trying to solve some of the problems created in the last 4 years by Pawlenty’s self serving insistence on maintaining the (fake) illusion of ‘no new taxes’ . Even the previous Republican Governor thinks he’s full of it.
Comment posted May 31, 2007 @ 11:37 pm
Can’t be overridden… …because the session’s over. The DFL could revive a bill in a special session, but only the Governor can call one. Pawlenty should, of course: the needs of the state should outweigh political calculus here. But he won’t, because he’s afraid the DFL might find its cojones if they came back.
Me, I think the DFL should have adjourned the House and Senate and forced a special session. But I don’t have any say in the matter. As it is, all the funding bills are done, although transit is a bare-bones, lights-on measure. Most likely, nothing can or will be addressed until the 2008 session, and since it’s an off-year session, a lot of this will remain unaddressed until 2009, when Gov. Timmy hopes to be out of this two-bit state and residing in the Naval Observatory.
Comment posted May 31, 2007 @ 7:14 am
T-Paw is the one not heeding the call Crab: T-Paw is accusing people of not heeding his call? That sounds almost unreal.
What about his campaign promise of not hiking the tax? Is he gonna blame that on DFLers?
Comment posted May 31, 2007 @ 2:12 pm
Ego and ambition over the needs of MN every time. Is there any chance that this veto could be overridden?
I'm always amazed at what an uncompromising jerk Pawlenty is. There hasn't been a smooth legislative session since he's been in a position of leadership, even before he was Governor. He's always willing to shaft the needs of the greater population of the state in order to keep his republican resume pure and to keep the top 10% content.
So-freaking-what if they didn't 'heed my warnings'. The legislature was trying to solve some of the problems created in the last 4 years by Pawlenty's self serving insistence on maintaining the (fake) illusion of 'no new taxes' . Even the previous Republican Governor thinks he's full of it.
Comment posted May 31, 2007 @ 6:37 pm
Can't be overridden… …because the session's over. The DFL could revive a bill in a special session, but only the Governor can call one. Pawlenty should, of course: the needs of the state should outweigh political calculus here. But he won't, because he's afraid the DFL might find its cojones if they came back.
Me, I think the DFL should have adjourned the House and Senate and forced a special session. But I don't have any say in the matter. As it is, all the funding bills are done, although transit is a bare-bones, lights-on measure. Most likely, nothing can or will be addressed until the 2008 session, and since it's an off-year session, a lot of this will remain unaddressed until 2009, when Gov. Timmy hopes to be out of this two-bit state and residing in the Naval Observatory.
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