Minnesota lawmakers returned to the Capitol Monday morning to complete the state’s next two-year budget as agencies prepared to warn thousands of government employees of a potential government shutdown next month.
Most of the state government only has funding through the end of June after the Legislature failed to pass the majority of the bills that form the roughly $66 billion state budget by the end of the regular legislative session on May 19.
Gov. Tim Walz.
Gov. Tim Walz called a special session so lawmakers can finish their work. State leaders finalized the details in a series of mostly closed meetings over the last few weeks. The Senate and House went into session at 10 a.m. and are expected to finish their work by Tuesday morning.
However, there’s no guarantee that will happen.
Democratic-Farmer-Labor and Republican legislative leaders and the governor may have signed an agreement to finish up the special session by 7 a.m. Tuesday, but nothing can stop other state senators and representatives from introducing amendments and engaging in lengthy debate on controversial bills.
Health insurance issue
Some bills that are part of the budget deal between Walz, the tied House and DFL majority Senate may pass on thin margins.
A proposal to end state-funded health insurance for adults in the U.S. without legal immigration status is opposed by many DFLers and may only pass with the support of Republicans and the DFL leaders who signed the agreement.
Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, and House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman, of Brooklyn Park, have said they agreed to remove coverage for adults to avert a government shutdown, which would interrupt services on a much larger scale.
The immigrant care proposal was the first bill the House took up Monday morning, and representatives continued to debate the matter as noon approached.
If the measure passes both chambers, Walz would have a tough time vetoing it. Republicans managed to get DFLers to agree to tie the activation of health care spending to ending MinnesotaCare for around 17,000 adults in the state who came to the U.S. illegally.
Tax, transportation bills
Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers have expressed reservations about the tax and transportation bills.
The tax bill includes an increase to the sales tax on cannabis, and Republican leadership had initially said it wouldn’t support any new taxes, and some members may stick to that pledge.
There were also questions on Friday about whether a proposal to shift $93 million in sales tax revenue from metro counties to the Metropolitan Council would survive floor votes, as members of both parties might turn on shifting money from local governments to a central planning agency.
This is a developing story that will update throughout the day.
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