As the Minnesota Legislature blew its deadline to pass a $66 billion budget last week, legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Walz said they hoped lawmakers would return to the Capitol for a special session to enact new state spending by the end of May.
That’s looking less likely by the day as disagreements over a budget framework deal reached by leadership continue to slow progress. As of Wednesday, lawmakers working in mostly private groups hadn’t produced any major public progress on two-thirds of state general fund spending — K-12 education, health and human services.
If there isn’t a state budget by June 1, thousands of state employees will start getting layoff notices warning of a potential government shutdown on July 1. Lawmakers must pass a budget by the end of June or the government runs out of funding.
“Even though it’s slower than we would like, things are going well,” Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth said at her last availability with the media last Thursday. Nearly a week later, there had been little extra progress.
House Speaker Lisa Demuth (Courtesy photo)
Special session
There was hope that there might be some kind of deal by the end of Memorial Day weekend. Now it looks like lawmakers won’t return until next week at the earliest.
Even if they reached a deal on all budget items on Thursday, final preparations might take at least 24 hours after bills are posted. The governor said he won’t call a special session until all legislation is ready to go.
There are a few areas of spending the Senate and House passed at the end of session — public safety, agriculture, housing and veterans affairs bills passed. But the biggest parts of the state budget remain unsettled. Deals on taxes, transportation and energy remain elusive as well.
A “global deal” on the budget announced two weeks ago by the Democratic-Farmer-Labor-majority Senate, DFL-GOP tied House and the governor has been troubled by disagreements over finer details.
Senate Majority Leader Erin P. Murphy. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Senate)
There has also been public opposition to a provision cutting state-funded health care for adults in the U.S. without legal status. DFLers ranging from self-described progressives to moderates say they oppose the change, which Republicans asked for in top-level negotiations.
Opponents gathered outside the governor’s office in the Capitol to protest the cuts on Tuesday, Forum News Service reported. While they oppose the cuts, Walz, House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman and Senate DFL Majority Leader Erin Murphy have indicated they’ll support them in order to prevent interruption of other state services.
Not ready to move forward
It’s hard to tell how close members are to a deal.
Discussions have mostly been happening in private “working groups” on various budget areas rather than committees. One of the few groups that is public is working on taxes, which has shed some light on the difficulties in the process.
Lawmakers working on the taxes bill weren’t in complete agreement last week about how the agreement will shape their decision-making.
Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, said they’d seek further guidance from leaders on how to proceed. And this Tuesday, she showed frustration with House lawmakers who didn’t appear to be ready to move forward with their own offer.
Sen. Ann Rest.
“Let it be known to our leaders that the House cannot even accept their own proposal,” said Rest, the Senate Taxes chair, as the committee went into recess.
Unique dynamics of co-leaders from both parties in the House working with the DFL majority in the Senate have complicated negotiations. The last time the House was tied was in 1979. Murphy called the House a “two-headed monster.”
Working groups have already passed their leadership-imposed May 21 deadline to finish work on bills, so leaders from both parties said they are getting more closely involved. It’s possible they could take control of bills from committee chairs.
Related Articles
What Minnesota laws and policies changed after George Floyd? Here are 9 topics
Seeking budget deal by end of May, MN lawmakers work Memorial Day weekend
Inmate rights groups demand say in Stillwater prison closure plan
Matt Ehling: This open-meeting law change is a problem. Undo it, legislators
MN Legislature: Budget negotiations go behind closed doors
Leave a Reply