Dayton: Veto of environment bill may not yield better bill
Gov. Mark Dayton Wednesday stopped short of promising to sign or veto budget bills other than the E-12 bill he has already all but vetoed.
When asked specifically about the environment and agriculture finance bill, he hinted that the veto that environmental groups have been requesting might not be coming. About 80 DFL lawmakers opposed the bill.
The Minnesota Environmental Partnership, which represents a coalition of groups at the Capitol, sent a veto request letter to Dayton Wednesday with a list of its objections. The group also plans a demonstration outside the governor's residence on Thursday.
Here are Dayton's comments on the environment/agriculture finance bill today:
"There are things that are really important, such as the buffer language, and there are things that I strongly disagree with, for example eliminating the Pollution Control Agency Citizens Board, which has been in existence for about 40 years through Republican and Democrat and Independent governors.
But I've said to these groups, it's not like we can go back, if I veto a bill or something, it's not like we can go back and get a better bill. Given the split nature of governance, which the voters of Minnesota decided we should have, from their standpoint, and I'm sure from the other side's standpoint as well, there are things in there that they really, really strongly dislike and want to change.
But it's not to say, well it's not our version of a very good or perfect bill, therefore veto, because it's not going to come back better. ...That's something we're going to have to live with for another year and a half and through another legislative session. People want divided government, this is one of the consequences of it.
Some people say that's good, some people say otherwise, but that's what the voters of Minnesota decided we would have, and we're going to do the best we can."
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