Shutdown Over, Lillie Says It's A 'Good Deal For Minnesota'

Insults were hurled. Accusations were made. Pleas were ignored. But in the end, the people’s business was finished.

Gov. Mark Dayton has signed into law all 12 budget bills passed by the Minnesota House and Senate during early-morning hours Wednesday.

Dayton’s signatures ended the Minnesota government shutdown, which, at 20 days, was the longest continuous shutdown in state history.

Sen. Ted Lillie—who voted for all 12 budget bills—said he got home at about 5:30 a.m. this morning. “The sun was coming up, the robins were chirping.”

“On the whole, I believe that this is a very good deal for Minnesota,” said Lillie, a first-term Republican who represents Woodbury.

While Lillie said he was pleased that the Legislature passed a budget and ended the shutdown, he also noted that similar versions of the bills Dayton signed this morning were previously presented.

“It’s a shame that we had to go through this exercise,” he said. “That work could have been done weeks ago.”

Lillie said he was glad the state was able to hold the line on tax increases and hopes it spurs job growth in Minnesota.

Lillie voted against the bonding bill—part of Dayton’s provisions for agreeing to the GOP budget. He said he supports the typical legislative cycle of working on a budget one year and bonding bill the next.

“That is what we should have done,” Lillie said, adding that there was already plenty of funding in the budget for infrastructure improvements.

Rep. Andrea Kieffer, a Woodbury Republican, voted for all 12 budget bills and said it was high time the state got back to work.

"That was our goal and we're happy with the legislation," she said.

However, Kieffer said she wasn't happy with the funding shifts to schools or the bonding bill that was pushed through at the governor's request. Still, she said she voted for the measures because the shutdown was hurting the state.

"I just think we need to deal in good faith," she said.

Rep. Kathy Lohmer (R-Lake Elmo) said she is proud that there are “no new taxes.”

“After an incredibly long, intense day talking within our caucus and on the floor, I am feeling really good about what happened,” said Lohmer, who represents parts of Woodbury.

When Republicans took to the floor Tuesday, “we were united,” Lohmer said. “There were no new taxes, spending was going to be capped at about $34 billion and I am really excited about some of the reforms that will curtail spending in the future.”

Lohmer voted for 10 of the 12 budget bills. She did not support the bonding bill or the pension bill.

“I’m not in favor of borrowing to spend more money,” Lohmer said.

When the bonding bill came to the floor, Lohmer asked if any of the funds would go toward a new Stillwater bridge.

“They were adamant in saying it would not,” she said. “If it did, I would have voted for it.”

When it came to the pension bill, Lohmer said she didn’t feel as though she had enough information to case a vote supporting it.

“I absolutely think the state of Minnesota got a great deal out of this,” she said. “We kept our promise to live within our means. I don’t like that the state shutdown—I don’t think the government should have been shutdown for tax increases.”

In the end, Dayton kept his promise that he wouldn’t sign any of the bills until all 12 had passed through both legislative bodies.

At the start of the marathon special session, it seemed as though the process would be over quickly. In its first hour, the Senate passed six of 12 bills while the House passed five. But by 1 a.m. Wednesday, just eight bills were ready to be sent to the governor, with the House passing an additional two.

As expected, the bills on taxes, health and human services, K-12 education and state government garnered the most spirited debates on the House floor.

Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) called the Republican-written budget “morally bankrupt,” and Minority Leader Paul Thissen (DFL-Minneapolis) said Republicans had “every reason to hang (their) heads in shame.”

House Majority Leader Matt Dean (R-Dellwood) countered by accusing DFLers of forgetting to do their jobs and “dragging (Minnesota) into a shutdown.”

Listed below are the bills and the votes that passed them:

Special Session Bills

Senate Judiciary/Public Safety bill: 57-7
House Judiciary/Public Safety bill: 77-51

Senate Environment bill: 43-22
House Environment bill: 71-57

Senate Jobs and Economic Growth bill: 42-23
House Jobs and Economic Growth bill: 76-50

Senate Transportation bill: 38-27
House Transportation bill: 71-56

Senate Higher education bill: 35-30
House Higher education bill: 71-57

Senate Health & Human Services bill: 37-27
House Health & Human Services bill: 71-57

Senate K-12 education bill: 36-28
House K-12 education bill: 71-56

Senate State Government bill: 40-24
House State Government bill: 81-47

Senate Legacy bill: 65-0
House Legacy bill: 98-30

Senate Pension bill: 61-3
House Pension bill: 115-12

Senate Taxes bill: 37-27
House Taxes bill: 71-57

Senate Bonding bill: 53-11
House Bonding bill: 112-17