The House passed the bill by a 86-45 margin, with all but one Democrat supporting the measure, while all Republicans opposed it. The Senate then passed it on a 44-20 vote, also along party lines.

Democrats had portrayed the tax bill as a compromise because it has the same level of new revenue as Pawlenty’s budget plan. However, the Republican governor’s budget proposal relies on roughly $1 billion obtained by selling bonds backed by future tobacco settlement proceeds, rather than new taxes.

Previously House Democrats passed a tax bill with $1.5 billion in new revenues, while their counterparts in the Senate drafted a bill with $2.2 billion in new taxes.

The veto essentially puts the legislature back at square one in attempting to close the state’s $6.4 billion budget deficit. The House would have to scrounge up four more votes to override the governor, a possibility that seems highly unlikely given how the debate played out yesterday.

Last night Pawlenty also announced the he was vetoing a bill that would have required retailers to post signs warning of the dangers of cocoa bean shell mulch. The measure was much ridiculed by Republican legislators.