politics

Minnesota governors have no power over constitutional amendments but despite that Gov. Mark Dayton has made his voice heard on the Legislature's moves to change the constitution.

When lawmakers approved constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriage and require photo id for voting, Dayton symbolically vetoed them. Voters later rejected both amendments.

On Friday, after lawmakers approved a 2016 constitutional amendment to give the power over their pay to an appointed panel, Dayton neither signed nor vetoed the amendment legislation.

Instead, he let it move forward without his signature. The impact is negligible, even when he vetoed last year's constitutional amendments they still appeared on the ballot and if governor's neither sign nor veto bills after session they automatically become law.

But his lack of action could send a message about his feelings about the amendment.

In signing all the rest of the Legislature's bills, Dayton also let a measure raising the thresholds for audits of firefighters’ associations become law without his signature. The measure passed the House and Senate on overwhelming bipartisan votes.

Minnesota governors have no legal power over constitutional amendments. Despite that Gov. Mark Dayton has made his voice heard on the Legislature's moves to change the constitution.

When lawmakers approved constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriage and require photo id for voting, Dayton symbolically vetoed them. Voters later rejected both amendments.

On Friday, after lawmakers approved a 2016 constitutional amendment to give the power over their pay to an appointed panel, Dayton neither signed nor vetoed the amendment legislation. 

Instead, he let it move forward without his signature. The impact is negligible, even when he vetoed last year's constitutional amendments they still appeared on the ballot and if governor's neither sign nor veto bills after session they automatically become law.

But his lack of action could send a message about his feelings about the amendment.

In signing all the rest of the Legislature's bills, Dayton also let a measure raising the thresholds for audits of firefighters’ associations become law without his signature. The measure passed the House and Senate on overwhelming bipartisan votes.

Child care providers who care for children in their homes and personal care assistants who take care of elderly and disabled people will be able to vote on unionization under a bill signed Friday by Gov. Mark Dayton.

The DFL governor signed a bill that became a major point of contention in the last hours of the Legislative session, but which was a top priority of unions that are part of the DFL coalition.

It does not unionize care workers, but it allows them to vote on whether to represented by unions.

It affects in-home child care providers, both licensed and unlicensed, who care for children receiving state subsidies; as well as personal care attendants, or PCAs, who are hired by the people they care for, often their relatives.

Two unions have been organizing in-home providers for years: the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, and the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU.

Controversy focused on child-care portion of the bill because these providers run their own businesses and negotiate rates directly with parents. An active group of child care providers fought the bill, along with the Republican minority in the House and Senate.

Local and national conservative organizations are promising lawsuits to challenge the new law before it can take effect. 

Undergraduate tuition will be frozen for two years at Minnesota colleges and universities under a bill signed Friday by Gov. Mark Dayton.

Undergraduate, resident tuition at both the University of Minnesota and in the Minnesota State College and University system will be frozen beginning in the 2013-14 academic year, according to the bill sponsor, Sen. Terri Bonoff, DFL-Minnetonka. The freeze will continue in the 2014-15 academic year.

The higher-education bill, part of the DFL government's education initiative in the 2013 legislative session, includes a boost of $46 million for the State Grant program, which students can use for their choice of higher education programs.

The total increase in funding in the bill is $250 million.

Gov. Mark Dayton signed a $2.1 billion tax bill into law Thursday, along with a host of other bills passed in the final hours of the session.

Along with the new tax bill - which includes a $1.60-per-pack hike in cigarette taxes and tax increases on the wealthiest Minnesotans -- Dayton also signed off on the massive $11.3 billion Health and Human Services budget, a jobs bill, the veterans services budget and a host of other provisions passed in the final days of the legislative session.

Dayton signed off on a $429 million jobs and economic development budget and the two-year budget for state veterans services. 

Other provisions signed into law Thursday afternoon included: the omnibus data practices bill; the public safety finance bill; the omnibus retirement bill; the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Finance and Policy bill, the transportation finance bill, and changes to state elections policies.