Special Session Date On Hold As Dayton, Daudt Meet Again
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A one-day special session will be held next month so lawmakers can wrap up unfinished business. What they'll actually be voting on has yet to be determined.
They have yet to set a date, but if the work isn't done before July 1 it could lead to a partial government shutdown.
But, the good news is, they are making some progress.
Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt and Democratic Governor Mark Dayton had private talks Tuesday at the Governor's Residence. The two are attempting to agree on a number of bills that would be voted on in the special session.
It was Dayton's veto of three major spending bills last week that led the way for the special session.
They still haven't zeroed in on the really big hurdles, such as the pre-K programs, agriculture and environment funding and the jobs bill.
But, they both know time is of the essence.
"I've tried to represent that we want to be flexible, and we want to get the work done that the people of Minnesota expect us to get done," Daudt said. "And if that means we have to give a little bit, then we'll have to do that as well."
"We get more and more problematic the further we go into June. More and more uncertainty for people in terms of their families, their sources of incomes, as well as the vendors and everyone else. It behooves us to get it done as quickly as possible," Dayton said.
If lawmakers don't pass any of the bills that fund state government by June 1, the state will send out 10,000 layoff notices to non-essential government employees.
If they don't pass any bills by July 1, the state faces another partial shutdown, just like Minnesota experienced in 2011.
While the date has not been set, lawmakers have decided on a place to hold the special session as the Capitol is closed for renovations.
The legislature will meet at the state office building.
They'll have two small hearing rooms to conduct their business and hopefully come to terms on the issues.