 Governor Mark Dayton on Tuesday signed most of a $46 billion budget, but vetoed funding specifically for the state legislature. A move that top Republicans said they would likely challenge in court as unconstitutional. By signing much of the budget though, including funding for state agencies, extra money to expand public preschool options, and to keep state parks open. I am signing into law those nine so-called budget bills in order to forestall a bitter June's showdown over a state government shutdown. I have strongest agreements with certain provisions in every one of those bills. However, having been through 20 to most of the states in July of 2011, I understand the enormous uncertainties and disruptions that even the threat of another shutdown would cause for many thousands of Minnesotans. It really was a historically productive session. Republicans in the House and Senate worked together. In the end, we reached out to the governor as well and looked what happened. We have the largest tax bill we've had in almost two decades, with relief to just about anyone you can think of. We have a transportation bill of $300 billion plus money in the bonding bill, so it's over $500 million or a half a billion that were put into roads and bridges, and that's really, really a good thing. Now, by zeroing out funding for the legislature itself, Dayton made it clear he hoped to spare the pain of a government shutdown while forcing Republican legislative leaders back to the Capitol on his terms. The Democratic governor said he would only agree to a special session to restore House and Senate funding if lawmakers also reworked a $650 million tax bill to remove costly tax breaks for estates and several tobacco products and reduce the scope of a cut to business property taxes. Dayton said he'd allow that tax bill to become law without his signature.