Text: June 2, 2011Governor Mark Dayton130 State Capitol75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.St. Paul, MN 55155Dear Governor Dayton:We are deeply disappointed that you have instructed Commissioner Frans and Commissioner Schowalter not to attend today's meeting of the Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy. Commissioner Frans and Commissioner Schowalter were both personally contacted and invited to today's meeting and both had previously agreed to attend. We find your unilateral action in this matter disturbing. The unwillingness to engage in a public discourse is counterproductive to what the mission of the LCPFP is. which is to provide the legislature with in-depth analysis of projected state revenues, expenditures, and tax expenditures.Specifically, we note that Minnesota Statute 3.885, subdivision 4 reads:"... The commissioner ofmanagement and budget and the commissioner ofrevenue shall provide the commission with full andfree access to information, data, estimates, and statistics in the possession of the Management and Budget and Revenue Departments on the state budget. revenue, expenditures, and tax expenditures."In your State of the State Address on February 9th, you called on lawmakers to avoid a budget impasse that could lead to a government shutdown and said:''It is absolutely unthinkable that we would even contemplate doing so here in Minnesota, I ask you, legislators. I invite you, I implore you -- to join with me now, right here in our Capitol, and pledge to the people of Minnesota that we will not shut down their government, our government - not next July 1, not any July 1, not any day, ever."In order to avoid a potential government shutdown, we strongly urge you to reconsider your decision and allow your commissioners to engage in a discussion to help solve this state's fiscal crisis.Sincerely, Amy T. KochSenate Majority LeaderSenate District 19Kurt ZellersSpeaker of the HouseHouse District 32 B