Gov. Mark Dayton making his final State of the State, has much to do and not much time to do it

Gov. Mark Dayton will make his final State of the State address in the Capitol House chambers Wednesday, capping off a tenure in which he shepherded the state out of chronic budget deficits and focused on issues like education, equity and water quality.

Despite the oncoming end of the Dayton era, he said during a Tuesday news conference that he is not feeling nostalgic: Im waxing nostalgic about staying on my feet for the whole speech, he said, referring to his dehydration-related collapse during his 2017 State of the State.

Dayton, who is not running again and has about 300 days left as governor, is expected to use his speech to emphasize his remaining agenda, which is both robust and politically fraught: fiscal issues, education and infrastructure, with an emphasis on water quality infrastructure.

Taxes are the biggest issue facing Dayton and the 201 lawmakers he will address Tuesday. After a major federal tax overhaul passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in late 2017, Minnesota must make adjustments to its own tax code or see residents and businesses swimming in a morass of new complexity and/or tax increases. Dayton is expected unveil his tax proposal Friday when he rolls out a 2018 budget proposal.

Dayton and lawmakers have a $329 million projected budget surplus, but they also face fiscal challenges, including an uncertain environment surrounding federal health programs and the sunsetting of a lucrative tax on health care providers at the end of 2019.

The second-term DFL governor wants a big infrastructure bill, with significant investment in water infrastructure. The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated Minnesota will need to spend $11 billion to maintain and upgrade its water systems during the next two decades.

For several years, Dayton has also pushed for universal prekindergarten in the face of Republican opposition, thus far achieving his goal for only the neediest students.

Amid this ambitious agenda, Dayton will be forced to deal with a Republican-controlled Legislature with whom he has clashed bitterly, going so far as to veto money for legislative staff and salaries in 2017. That fight wound up at the Supreme Court, with Dayton winning the case but relenting on legislative funding in recent weeks.

Jessie Van Berkel 651-925-5044