There’s a tentative deal to bring lawmakers budget stalemate to an end, and this one might stick.
In
a statement released Wednesday morning, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton said he
and Republicans in control of the Minnesota House of Representatives
reached an agreement on all outstanding budget provisions, and that he
planned to call a special session as soon as leaders of all four
legislative caucuses signed off on the deal.
The
final deal will include $5 million as part of the jobs-and-energy
budget, which Dayton wanted to help Minnesotans with disabilities find
work and help prevent homelessness among those suffering with mental
illness. The final deal will also include an electric rate break for
mining and forestry industries in northeastern Minnesota, but it will
have added “consumer protections,” according to Dayton’s release.
Leaders
also agreed to fix a quirk in state law to allow the city of Rochester
to use local sales tax dollars as part of a major expansion of the Mayo
Clinic.
In his statement, Dayton said the
negotiations have been “extremely difficult,” but that the sign of a
true compromise is that no one is happy with the final deal.
“Proponents
and opponents of various policies across the political spectrum will be
as unhappy with certain features as we, who ultimately had to accept
them to avoid another government shutdown, the indefinite layoffs of
9,500 state employees, and severe disruptions of important public
services,” he said.
Nailing down the details in the
jobs-and-energy budget is the latest agreement, but Dayton and
Republicans have been going back and forth on a budget deal for weeks.
Dayton vetoed three budget bills, including education and agriculture
and the environment, after regular session adjourned on May 18. Last
week, leaders announced a deal to spend $525 million out of a $1.8
billion surplus on education over the next two years, but issues
remained in other bills, prolonging the negotations. On Monday, Dayton
agreed to drop his opposition to one of the biggest sticking points — a
provision that allows county governments to go around the state
auditor’s office and seek reviews from private firms — clearing the way
for the tentative deal.
Dayton expressed concerns
earlier this week about other language in the jobs-and-energy bill that
would require people who used alternative energy sources to pay more.
But similar language to what the Legislature passed will be included in
the final deal, said GOP Rep. Pat Garofalo, the author of the bill.
In
an email statement on the deal, House Speaker Kurt Daudt touted the
"third lowest percent increase in general fund spending in over 50
years," holding the line on tax increases and more money for education,
aging adults and transportation.
“Minnesotans
expect us to come to St. Paul and lead by working together. The House
Republican majority's aim from the beginning was bringing government
spending more in line with family budgets.
