May 9, 2009 11:10 am US/Central
Pawlenty Blocks $1B Tax Hike-For-Spending Tradeoff
ST. PAUL (AP) ―
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Pawlenty spokesman Alex Carey said the GOP governor vetoed the bill around 3 a.m., just before setting out to mark the opening of Minnesota's fishing season on White Bear Lake. (File)
CBS
Gov. Tim Pawlenty threw a $1 billion package of tax increases back at the Legislature, issuing a prompt veto Saturday of the rapidly constructed bill.
Pawlenty spokesman Alex Carey said the GOP governor vetoed the bill around 3 a.m., just before setting out to mark the opening of Minnesota's fishing season on White Bear Lake.
The tax plan passed the Legislature on Friday, after lawmakers pulled the bill together from scratch the night before. Democratic House and Senate majorities sold it as a way to stave off deep cuts to schools, nursing homes and hospitals. The new tax money would flow to the special accounts for the three areas.
Taxes would rise on alcohol, credit card companies that charge high interest rates and couples earning more than $250,000.
"Governor Pawlenty feels the bill is like a bucket of leeches on the tax payers of Minnesota," Carey said. "There was no way he was going to sign it."
Lawmakers could try to override the veto, but it would take vote switches in both chambers. The House approved it 86-45, which is four votes shy of the two-thirds required for an override. The Senate's 44-20 vote, one short of what it would take to reverse the veto.
House Majority Leader Tony Sertich, DFL-Chisholm, reacted to the veto in a written statement that was silent on the prospects for an override vote. The House would need to go first.
"We need the governor to stop being inflexible to the balanced approach of cuts and revenue that will keep our commitment to our students, hospitals, nursing homes, and disabled Minnesotans -- while protecting jobs," Sertich said.
The Legislature and Pawlenty have until May 18 to finish a two-year budget on time, although a special session is a possibility. Only two small pieces of the budget are settled. Minnesota lawmakers are confronting a $4.6 billion projected deficit, a shortfall that would be larger without federal stimulus dollars.
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Pawlenty signed bills to pay for the Transportation Department, State Patrol and environment and natural resource programs.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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