Dayton Says Eager to Mediate Veto Dispute

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) _ Gov. Mark Dayton says he's pleased by a Minnesota Supreme Court order that backed his veto of the Legislature's funding.

Dayton also praised the court's order that the two sides go into mediation, saying he asked for just that when he made the veto.

The months-long legal battle began this spring when Dayton line-item vetoed lawmakers' $130 million operating budget. He said he wanted to force lawmakers to rework costly tax breaks and other measures he signed into law, but GOP leaders sued instead.

While the Supreme Court said Dayton's veto was constitutional, the justices made it clear they felt the dispute should be resolved through a political process rather than a legal one. They wrote that to do otherwise would imperil the state's system of three separate branches of government.