Governor's Budget Presented.  The House and Senate education funding committees both devoted their committee time to presentation of the Governor's budget by Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius.  The Governor has proposed over $600 million above base for the E-12 budget.  I outlined those proposed appropriations yesterday, but to refresh your memory, the largest commitment is a 2% increase in the basic formula in each of the next two years, a $75 million increase in the voluntary pre-kindergarten program, and $68 million for helping school districts pay the employers' share of the deficit in the TRA fund.  The Governor's tax proposal includes $60 million in increased debt service equalization to be phased-in over the next four years.

Here is a link to the document used by the Commissioner in her presentation.

Governor Dayton's 2017 E-12 Budget

MNSure Rebate Bill Negotiations Completed.   However one feels about the particulars, it may be a good sign that the Governor and Legislature came to agreement relatively quickly on the MNSure rebate issue.  There were obvious time constraints to get the work on the bill completed, but the way things have been going the past few years, deadlines haven't meant a whole lot and this may be a harbinger of greater cooperation throughout the session.