After nearly three weeks of negotiating contentious budget issues, legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Walz say they’re ready to begin a special session to complete the work they didn’t finish last month.
On Friday, Walz formally called a special session to be held on Monday, June 9. Both the state House and Senate will convene at 10 a.m. to pass a number of state budget-related bills that cover some of the largest areas of state spending: K-12, higher education, health and human services, transportation, energy, environment, and commerce.
Lawmakers will also pass a standalone bill repealing MinnesotaCare access for illegal immigrant adults, according to a copy of the special session agreement.
“This bipartisan budget agreement makes thoughtful reductions in state spending while keeping us on track to make Minnesota the best state in the country to raise a child,” Walz said in a press statement. “While all sides had to make concessions in order to reach a compromise, I’m grateful to our legislative partners for their collaboration and dedication to moving Minnesota forward.”
The regular legislative session officially ended May 19 without a completed budget. Negotiations continued well into June, just days before about 28,000 state employees were due to receive layoff notices, should a budget agreement not have been reached by June 10.
Leaders in the divided legislature also chimed in with press statements of their own on Friday.
“These negotiations demanded the work of many members and staff, from all four caucuses and the Governor’s office, who contributed hundreds of hours over the past several weeks to reach agreement,” said Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul. “I need to thank the members of my caucus for their expertise, rigor, creativity, and fierce advocacy for the principles they bring to this work, everyday.”
She contrasted this with the “chaos, cruelty, and greed” of “Donald Trump and Republicans in Washington.”
But Republican leaders at the Minnesota Capitol have continued to remind voters that it was Democrat legislators who boycotted the start of session for more than three weeks earlier this year.
“Despite the 23-day delay to the start of session, Minnesotans expect legislators to get their work done,” said House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring. “I look forward to finishing the state budget with the largest cut to state spending in history, important reforms to Earned Sick and Safe Time and Paid Family Leave, and other important wins for Minnesotans across the state.”
When all is said and done, the budget agreement will fund state government for the next two years, at a price tag of about $67 billion.
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
