With 10 Days Left In Special Session, Legislators Still Have Plenty Of Work To Do
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Legislature has 10 days to get all 15 budget bills done or the state government will shut down.
And unlike past shutdowns, this one would be more severe because agencies that were allowed to get funding won't be able to.
After a lengthy filibuster by the Republican minority, the Minnesota House finally passed three budget bills: the Legacy, Agriculture and Higher Education Bills.
But with 10 days left in the special session there are a dozen more budget bills to pass, including the Health and Human Services and Public Safety bills. The slowdown was part of a protest by House Republicans that they are not being included in budget negotiations they say are being conducted by three people: the governor, the House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka.
Hortman has labeled the House minority's actions as obstructionist. The Republicans argue it's about a more Democratic process. House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt was a guest on WCO Sunday Morning.
"The reality is while we have thoroughly been vetting the bills that have been on the House floor thus far the bills that we have seen are only about 7% of the state budget," he said. "The big pieces like health and human services, those bills are not even written yet I believe those agreements will get done from what I am hearing , I believe we are not far apart."
If all the budget bills aren't passed by July 1, the state government would shut down. Because of a 2017 Supreme Court ruling there would be more drastic funding cuts, potentially affecting the State Patrol, prisons, nursing homes and more.
Gazelka has introduced a continuing resolution similar to what they do in Washington that would allow some funding to continue after July 1, but it's not clear if that will work. Bottom line: the legislature has a lot of work to do this coming week.
You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Mike Augustyniak every Sunday at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.