2 days ago
Walz calls special session after budget deal reached with DFL, GOP leaders
Walz calls special session after budget deal reached with DFL, GOP leaders originally appeared on Bring Me The News.
Governor Tim Walz has called a special session starting Monday so the Minnesota Legislature can tie up its remaining business and finish the next state budget.
Lawmakers were unable to come to an agreement on all bills prior to the end of the session last month, perhaps unsurprising given the one-seat DFL majority in the Senate and the evenly-split House.
But after weeks of discussions among lawmakers, mostly behind closed doors, Walz confirmed that a budget framework had been reached with DFL and GOP leaders, He officially called a one-day special session, which will start at 10 a.m. on Monday.
Walz says the bipartisan 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."
In the announcement, Walz's office says that the special session will limit the discussion to outstanding spending and policy bills on a wide array of subjects.
That includes the proposal to abolish healthcare access to MinnesotaCare for undocumented adults in Minnesota, a policy that prompted pushback within the DFL, while the GOP had been pushing to scrap access for undocumented children too.
A human services bill that cuts $300 million from the budget, including significant amounts of funding for disability services, is also yet to pass.
Another subject that will be discussed is an as-yet unpublished bill to regulate data centers in Minnesota, which the Star Tribune's Walker Orenstein reports includes a repeal of tax breaks on electricity for data center providers, policy surrounding water use, and the provision of public funding for weatherization.
Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth issued a statement in which she states she looks forward to finishing a budget that makes changes to the DFL-enacted Earned Sick and Safe Time and Paid Family Leave programs, the latter of which isn't due to start until January.
This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
