Governor Dayton filed a petition Wednesday morning in the District Court of Ramsey County which outlines the essential services he believes should continue should a government shutdown occur July 1. Unlike the Attorney General’s petition, which was filed on Monday, PAYMENTS TO PROVIDERS WERE NOT INCLUDED AS ESSENTIAL SERVICES. This is the next step in the legal process. We have not seen the court-determined final schedule of filings for the legal process, but it is anticipated that all interested parties will file in the next week or so, and then the court will have a hearing to determine next steps.

Since the end of the legislative session, Care Providers of Minnesota has been looking at different potential litigation strategies. Once the underlying case was filed by the Attorney General, we sought to engage an attorney to file our own petition seeking payment to providers of older adult services. We, with our Long-Term Care Imperative partners, have engaged the services of Voigt, Klegon & Rodè, LLC to represent the interests of the older adult service providers who are seeking to be determined core services and receive payments in the event that the legislators and Governor are unable to come to an agreement by July 1. We have ongoing communication with them to best represent your interests in the pending litigation.

The Governor also issued a press release with the legal papers, saying, in part:

“It is with a heavy heart that I submitted today to Ramsey County District Court my list of those state services which should be continued in the event of a July 1st shutdown and, by their omission, those many services which should not. I consider virtually all services provided by the state to be essential, and all of them have been established by previous governors and legislatures to serve and benefit people throughout Minnesota.

“My decisions were not based upon personal preferences or policy considerations. Rather, they were instructed by the words of the Minnesota Constitution, which I took an oath of office to uphold, and ensuing case law. Agency heads, their staffs, and the staff at the MN Department of Management and Budget and the Governor’s Office have spent many hours developing these recommendations.

“The Minnesota Constitution states unequivocally: “No money shall be paid out of the treasury of this state except in pursuance of an appropriation by law.” (Article XI, Sect. 1.) Thus my decisions were based entirely upon which functions of state government are so critical to the protection of the lives and safety of the people of Minnesota, or which would cause disorder or severe statewide economic impact, that they should be made exceptions to this clear prohibition.

“Importantly, my brief first asks the Court to order Legislative Leaders and me to engage in mediation to help us resolve our differences before July 1st to avoid a shutdown. My evaluation of critical services has persuaded me even more deeply that a shutdown would have catastrophic consequences for a great many people throughout our state. I remain fully committed to doing everything I can to reach a balanced compromise with the Legislature on a fair and balanced budget before July 1st in order to avoid a shutdown.”

Attached is the Governor’s response to the Attorney General’s petition, as well as Exhibits A and B, also submitted to the Court. Exhibit A outlines recommended statewide objectives, in case of a potential Minnesota government shutdown, and was prepared by the statewide contingency response team, chaired by Commissioner Jim Schowalter. Exhibit B lists recommended priority one and priority two critical services which are recommended to continue to protect the life and safety of the people of Minnesota, in case of a government shutdown.

Toby Pearson
952.851.2480
tpearson@careproviders.org

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