Most years the state legislature gathers all legislation in major areas such as human services, education, and health into huge omnibus bills. This often precludes getting an up or down vote on individual funding bills or proposed changes in law.
This year they went further. They combined all areas of government into one gigantic omnibus bill, which Governor Dayton vetoed. This brinksmanship meant that even proposals which everyone agreed to were lost, such as extending home visiting to more ethnic communities, and aligning Minnesota with federal child care requirements.
Even worse, the modest funding proposals for early childhood education and child protection didn’t even make it into the Governor’s or legislature’s supplemental budgets.
Our advocacy efforts have to intensify, since children are clearly a low priority for our elected officials.