Gov. Mark Dayton said Wednesday that a dispute over the privatization of state auditor duties needs to be resolved before he calls legislators back for a special session, likely prolonging negotiations over state spending.
Dayton and House Speaker Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, reported progress this week in negotiations over funding for education, environmental protection, economic development and energy. The governor's insistence, however, that the Legislature undo the law that would allow counties to hire private auditing firms beginning in August 2016 appears to be the only outstanding obstacle in ensuring a final agreement.
State Auditor Rebecca Otto has lobbied aggressively to repeal the legislation, which Dayton signed last month. She said it would undermine the authority of her office, which conducts financial audits of counties and other local governments. Otto also criticized the lack of transparency in the passage of the bill.
A low-profile position, the state auditor is a constitutional office that Dayton held in the early 1990s. He said legislators are unfamiliar with the role of the office, saying its work is important and the reason why he will argue that its duties be preserved.
"If they really want to eviscerate the office, they should go to the voters of Minnesota," Dayton said.
Daudt said he has no intention of repealing that provision of the state government legislation. He offered a technical fix to ensure Otto's auditing powers don't end July 1 because of a drafting error.
He also said legislators are expecting a legislative auditor's report on "the efficiency of the examinations," due by Jan. 15, shortly before next year's legislative session.
"Unfortunately, if the governor did not want this in law, he should not have signed it a week and a half ago, and that's the bottom line," Daudt said.
