Text: 8334004 STATE OF MINNESOTA DISTRICT COURT COUNTY OF RAMSEY SECOND JUDICIAL DISTRICT CASE TYPE: Other Civil The Ninetieth Minnesota State Senate and the Ninetieth Minnesota State House of Representatives, Plaintiffs, v. Mark B. Dayton, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Minnesota, and Myron Frans, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Management and Budget, Defendants. Court File No. 62-cv-17-3601Chief Judge John H. Guthmann DEFENDANTS' ANSWER TO PLAINTIFFS' COMPLAINT The Governor has explicit and unqualified authority under the Minnesota Constitution to line-item veto any item of appropriation: "If a bill presented to the governor contains several items of appropriation of money, he may veto one or more of the items while approving the bill." Minn. Const. art. IV, § 23. The Legislative and Executive branches of Minnesota government have shared responsibilities for enacting laws. As described in Brayton v. Pawlenty, 781 N.W.2d 357, 365 (Minn. 2010): The Legislature has the primary responsibility to establish the spending priorities for the state through the enactment of appropriation laws. Minn. Const. art. IV, § 22; id. art. XI, § 1. The executive branch has a limited, defined role in the budget process. The Governor may propose legislation, including a budget that includes appropriation amounts, which proposals the Legislature is free to accept or reject. But the only formal budgetary authority granted the Governor by the constitution is to approve or veto bills passed by the Legislature. See Minn. Const. art. IV, § 23. With respect to appropriation bills, the constitution grants the Governor the more specific line-item veto authority, through which an item of appropriation can be vetoed without striking the entire bill. Id. If the Governor exercises the veto power, the Legislature may reconsider the bill or items vetoed, and if approved by a two-thirds vote, the vetoed bill or item becomes law. Id.Defendants' Answer Page 1 of 30Filed in Second Judicial District Court6/22/2017 1:36 PMRamsey County, MN62-CV-17-36018334004 2 (Emphasis added). In the 2017 legislative session, the Minnesota Senate and House attempted to suppress the constitutional veto authority of the Governor by placing into the Omnibus State Government Appropriations bill a "poison pill" that would have denied appropriations to the Department of Revenue if Governor Dayton vetoed the tax bill. Attached as Exhibit A is a true and correct copy of the appropriation for the Revenue Department. Governor Dayton signed the tax bill in order to enable the Department of Revenue to continue its operations, collecting revenue for the State and providing services to taxpayers. But, because of concerns with the impact of the tax bill on the future financial health of the State, and to seek renegotiation of a political solution on three key policy issues of concern to the Governor that were contained in the tax bill and two issues contained in other bills, Governor Dayton used his constitutionally-prescribed power to line-item veto two of three legislative appropriations--that of the Senate and the House. Since the Legislature chose to adjourn sine die just after presenting the bills to the Governor, and therefore relinquished any opportunity to override the vetoes, the Governor offered to call a second special session to revisit these five policy issues and the Senate and House appropriations. The leaders of the Senate and House have thus far declined to consider any changes to bills that were signed. By bringing this legal action, they seek to avoid further engagement in the ongoing political process. The Minnesota Constitution authorizes the Governor's line-item vetoes, without any qualification as to the Governor's subjective intent or purpose. The Governor's vetoes do not "unfund" the Legislature. The appropriation for the Legislative Coordinating Commission ("LCC") for over $35 million has become law. Attached as Exhibit B is a true and correct copy of the appropriation to the LCC. Although the vetoes eliminated the separate appropriations for Defendants' Answer Page 2 of 30Filed in Second Judicial District Court6/22/2017 1:36 PMRamsey County, MN62-CV-17-36018334004 3 the Senate and House, this did not violate separation of powers because the vetoes did not and could not eliminate the inherent constitutional right of those bodies to obtain court-ordered funding for their critical, core functions. ANSWER TO COMPLAINT Defendants Mark B. Dayton, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Minnesota, and Myron Frans, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Management and Budget ("Defendants") deny each allegation in the Complaint of The Ninetieth Minnesota State Senate and the Ninetieth Minnesota State House of Representatives' (together "Plaintiffs") Complaint except as expressly admitted below. INTRODUCTION 1.Defendants deny the allegations in paragraph 1, except to admit that Plaintiffs attempt to seek the relief they describe. Defendants specifically deny that Plaintiffs are constitutionally entitled to whatever appropriations they pass regardless of later vetoes. If Plaintiffs are unwilling to reach an agreement with the Governor on appropriations, the Minnesota Constitution does not entitle them to obtain an appropriation, but only to receive, by court order, the minimum funding strictly necessary to perform the Senate and House's critical, core functions, if and when that funding ever becomes necessary. 2.Defendants admit that the Senate and House passed nine appropriation bills and a tax bill. The Senate and House adjourned the 2017 special session sine die and the budget bills that were passed during the regular and special sessions were presented to Governor Dayton as provided by Minnesota Constitution, art. IV, § 23. 3.Defendants admit that Governor Dayton signed all of the appropriation bills and the tax bill into law. And Governor Dayton exercised his line-item veto authority to veto two of Defendants' Answer Page 3 of 30Filed in Second Judicial District Court6/22/2017 1:36 PMRamsey County, MN62-CV-17-3601