House votes not to override Pawlenty’s GAMC veto

Following more than two hours of debate on Monday, the Minnesota House of Representatives voted not to override Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s veto of a bill that would temporarily restore General Assistance Medical Care to more than 30,000 of the poorest Minnesotans.
The House fell three votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to override the governor’s veto.
Majority Leader Tony Sertich requested that the House be permitted to attempt an override later in the session. House members granted his motion with a 94-39 vote.
Before the vote, Sertich said if there was a better solution than the temporary GAMC bill or the autoenrollment of GAMC into MinnesotaCare, it would’ve come up in the nine months of debate on the topic.
“We’re not talking about saving a program,” he said. “We’re taking about saving people’s lives.”
Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, had previously voted for GAMC reinstatement, but said today he would vote to table the bill for further negotiation.
“I want people to understand what this bill does and doesn’t do,” he said. “This is not the salvation of the people. We can do better.”
On Thursday, the DFL-controlled Minnesota Senate voted 45-21 to override Pawlenty’s veto of the GAMC bill.