Legislative Session Wraps With A Budget Deal And Drama
May 16, 2010
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Marty Owings
A little before midnight last night DFL Leaders and the Governor came to agreement on a budget bill, however there was too little time left before the constitutionally mandated end of session to push it through the Legislature. Governor Tim Pawlenty then called for a Special Session to begin at one minute passed midnight, calling it, "a very short special session" and adding that the deal would be done before dawn. That deadline was also missed as Legislative staffers scrambled to complete the necessary paperwork and revisions. The Legislature reconvened around 8 am with House members voting to approve the compromise with a vote of 97-32 with a few Democrats and Republicans voting no. The Senate also passed the measure 52-14.
The deal helps to close the $3 billion dollar budget gap that had kept DFLers and the Governor at odds for the entire session and had come into sharp focus the past 48 hours. The Governor flew back to the Capitol early from the fishing opener to begin a diaolg, then the closed door meetings between the Governor and Legislative Leaders began to take place every few hours. Late yesterday both sides began to update the Capitol press with offer's and counter offers, at one point the Governor's spokesman Brian McClung said that DFL demands to include "surcharges" had set negotiations back. As the midnight deadline neared, many in the Capitol, including Law Makers began to doubt a solution would be reached. Around 11:30 pm word began to emerge that a deal had been struck.
Details of the the new budget bill include an agreement that would allow the next Governor to decide if they wanted to leverage the Federal Medical Assistance Program which includes $400 million dollars in matching funds. Pawlenty and GOP Law Makers want to resist taking the funds which they say are tied to Obama care. Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher said the deal would also protect nursing homes, with no cuts to K-12 and a plan to pay back money being borrowed from school funding.
Governor Pawlenty commented on the agreement saying he felt good that the surcharges were removed from the bill and that reforms made earlier in the session to General Assistance Medical Care would remain in place. Pawlenty said the cuts in the bill, "substaintially follow the unallotments", he had made the previous session. Pawlenty was asked if the special session would come with a political cost and he responded by saying, "I don't think so".
Minority Leader Kurt Zellers (R) said it was struggle to come to agreement when, "your $3 billion dollars in debt". Zellers added that coming to a good conclusion, even with a few minutes of overtime. Both Zellers and Senate Minority Leader David Senjem (R) were pressed to talk about who the winners and losers were in the agreement, but neither seemed willing to answer the question. Zellers deflected the query by stating, "We had a tough, tough job to do and in this situation its not about a winner or loser in this, its making sure we don't do any harm to our economy, Minnesota familes and tax payers."
