Legislature Mulls Challenging Dayton’s Budget Veto in Court

ST. PAUL -- A legal battle is brewing between Gov. Mark Dayton and Minnesota lawmakers.

Dayton zeroed out the Legislature's budget while signing the rest of a $46 billion budget earlier this week. It was a response to the Legislature forcing him to sign a $650 million package of tax cuts that Dayton now wants to slim down.

Top Republicans were set to meet Friday to explore hiring attorneys to challenge the action. House Speaker Kurt Daudt says it was clearly an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers.

But Dayton says he believes he has the authority to line-item veto the funding for the Legislature just like any other budget item. The House and Senate each get roughly $32 million year.