Latest news with #LisaDemuth
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
With no final MN budget deal in sight special session now likely in June
As the Minnesota Legislature blew its deadline to pass a $66 billion budget last week, legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Walz said they hoped lawmakers would return to the Capitol for a special session to enact new state spending by the end of May. That's looking less likely by the day as disagreements over a budget framework deal reached by leadership continue to slow progress. As of Wednesday, lawmakers working in mostly private groups hadn't produced any major public progress on two-thirds of state general fund spending — K-12 education, health and human services. If there isn't a state budget by June 1, thousands of state employees will start getting layoff notices warning of a potential government shutdown on July 1. Lawmakers must pass a budget by the end of June or the government runs out of funding. 'Even though it's slower than we would like, things are going well,' Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth said at her last availability with the media last Thursday. Nearly a week later, there had been little extra progress. There was hope that there might be some kind of deal by the end of Memorial Day weekend. Now it looks like lawmakers won't return until next week at the earliest. Even if they reached a deal on all budget items on Thursday, final preparations might take at least 24 hours after bills are posted. The governor said he won't call a special session until all legislation is ready to go. There are a few areas of spending the Senate and House passed at the end of session — public safety, agriculture, housing and veterans affairs bills passed. But the biggest parts of the state budget remain unsettled. Deals on taxes, transportation and energy remain elusive as well. A 'global deal' on the budget announced two weeks ago by the Democratic-Farmer-Labor-majority Senate, DFL-GOP tied House and the governor has been troubled by disagreements over finer details. There has also been public opposition to a provision cutting state-funded health care for adults in the U.S. without legal status. DFLers ranging from self-described progressives to moderates say they oppose the change, which Republicans asked for in top-level negotiations. Opponents gathered outside the governor's office in the Capitol to protest the cuts on Tuesday, Forum News Service reported. While they oppose the cuts, Walz, House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman and Senate DFL Majority Leader Erin Murphy have indicated they'll support them in order to prevent interruption of other state services. It's hard to tell how close members are to a deal. Discussions have mostly been happening in private 'working groups' on various budget areas rather than committees. One of the few groups that is public is working on taxes, which has shed some light on the difficulties in the process. Lawmakers working on the taxes bill weren't in complete agreement last week about how the agreement will shape their decision-making. Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, said they'd seek further guidance from leaders on how to proceed. And this Tuesday, she showed frustration with House lawmakers who didn't appear to be ready to move forward with their own offer. 'Let it be known to our leaders that the House cannot even accept their own proposal,' said Rest, the Senate Taxes chair, as the committee went into recess. Unique dynamics of co-leaders from both parties in the House working with the DFL majority in the Senate have complicated negotiations. The last time the House was tied was in 1979. Murphy called the House a 'two-headed monster.' Working groups have already passed their leadership-imposed May 21 deadline to finish work on bills, so leaders from both parties said they are getting more closely involved. It's possible they could take control of bills from committee chairs. What Minnesota laws and policies changed after George Floyd? Here are 9 topics Seeking budget deal by end of May, MN lawmakers work Memorial Day weekend Inmate rights groups demand say in Stillwater prison closure plan Matt Ehling: This open-meeting law change is a problem. Undo it, legislators MN Legislature: Budget negotiations go behind closed doors
CBS News
28-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Budget talks continue at Minnesota Capitol as health insurance for undocumented adults drives DFL wedge
Budget talks continue at the Minnesota Capitol but still no breakthrough in reaching an agreement on a balanced budget. Legislative leaders walked into talks some without saying much on Tuesday. "People have worked through the last few days, so we will see," said Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth. DFL Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman sounded slightly more optimistic, saying "we are hoping to wrap things up this week." One of the biggest obstacles is a DFL divide over free health insurance for adult undocumented immigrants Protestors took over the hall outside the governor's office, furious that he and DFL Senate Majority leader back a compromise that would take the health insurance benefit away from undocumented adults but leave it in place for children. "The governor is saying he will stand strong but will he, if he goes back on his promises on immigrants what else is he going to go back on," said Erika Zurawski, who protested the policy. If no agreement is reached by June 1, layoff notices will start going out to state employees. The final deadline is June 30. If there is no agreement by then the state will enter a government shutdown — the first since 2011. During the 20-day 2011 shutdown thousands of nonessential state workers were furloughed. And while public safety employees including the state patrol kept working, state parks were all shut down
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ugly divides revealed in budget negotiations even as leaders express optimism
The Brief Legislative leaders expressed optimism Tuesday that a budget deal could be finalized by the end of this week and a special session would start next week. An explosive taxes meeting -- one of the few working groups meeting publicly -- revealed some deep divisions on the road to finalizing agreements. Layoff notices will likely need to go out to state employees next week because July 1 is when a government shutdown would happen without a deal. ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - An explosive day at the Capitol has revealed some deep divisions as legislators try to work out a state budget before a special session. Explosive day They're on the clock to avoid a government shutdown and we saw the good, the bad and the ugly Tuesday. Walking into the governor's office, Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth, (R-Cold Spring), Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, (DFL-St. Paul), and House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, (DFL-Brooklyn Park), were all smiles — Hortman even expressing optimism that the finish line is near. "We're hoping to wrap things up this week and that the revisor will finish drafting soon thereafter," she said, acknowledging a special session would likely follow next week if everything goes right. Missing pieces But reasons for pessimism are also abundant. Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson was absent Tuesday and hasn't been invited to meet with the other leaders in five days. And most of the negotiations are happening behind closed doors, but two working groups are meeting in public. Tensions escalated in the taxes group Tuesday when Sen. Ann Rest pushed House members to dry the ink on a couple compromises proposed by the House members. "To move forward, the Senate is accepting your offer," said Sen. Rest, (DFL-New Hope). "One would think that the House would vote for their own offer. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, say no. The motion fails. Let it be known to our leaders that the House cannot even accept their own proposal." MN Care's till Tuesday The issue of healthcare coverage for undocumented immigrants is also still a powder keg. A few dozen protesters rallied in front of the governor's office, hoping to convince negotiators to back down from the change cutting undocumented adults out of MN Care. They argue the coverage saves money in the long run and it's the right thing to do with the budget. "Always it has to be a moral document, but people tend to make a political document," said Pablo Tapia, an organizer from Blaine. Deadlines approaching They're working under a couple deadlines at the Capitol now. The state government would shut down without a deal before July 1. And because of that, layoff notices have to go out to state employees if there's no deal before next Monday -- 30 days notice. That seems like a foregone conclusion now, even in the best-case scenario.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Seeking budget deal by end of May, MN lawmakers work Memorial Day weekend
State lawmakers plan to work through the Memorial Day weekend to finalize Minnesota's next $66 billion, two-year budget, which they failed to pass by Monday's legislative deadline. Leaders hope they can wrap up negotiations between the House — evenly split between Republican and Democratic-Farmer-Labor members — and the DFL-led Senate by early next week, so that Gov. Tim Walz can call them back for a special session to pass a budget before the end of the month. If they don't, state employees will get layoff notices starting June 1 warning of a potential government shutdown in July. The fiscal year ends June 30, and the Legislature has to authorize new spending before then in order to keep the state running. 'Working groups' have been meeting since Tuesday, mostly in private, to finalize details on big spending areas like K-12 education and health and human services, which account for two-thirds of state general fund spending. 'Even though it's slower than we would like, things are going well. It doesn't appear that anyone has quit or given up, and that is a very good sign,' Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring told reporters Thursday. 'Our expectation is they'll be here working until they can come up with an agreement and move it forward.' There's been progress on a handful of bills, but as of Friday evening, there was no public information on final deals for taxes or the biggest parts of state spending. A controversial provision in the budget deal reached by legislative leaders and the governor last week may be slowing progress on the health bill. DFLers and Republicans agreed to end state-funded MinnesotaCare health insurance for adults in the U.S. without legal immigration status, a benefit DFLers created while in control of state government in 2023. Republicans agreed to preserve care for children, but many Democrats remain strongly opposed. Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy of St. Paul wants MinnesotaCare cuts to travel as a separate bill, but Republicans want it to run with the overall health package. At a Thursday joint news conference with Demuth, House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman of Brooklyn Park said they hadn't resolved the matter. Both the DFL and Republican House leaders said they're confident Walz will sign all parts of the budget deal into law and still would approve cuts to immigrant care even if it traveled separately from a broader health bill. Further complicating matters are the unique dynamics of co-leaders from both parties in the House working with the DFL majority in the Senate. The last time the House was tied was in 1979. Murphy called the House a 'two-headed monster.' 'It's been more challenging than usual to sew this all together,' she told reporters on Thursday. Working groups have already passed their leadership-imposed Wednesday deadline to finish work on bills, so leaders from both parties said they are getting more closely involved. They haven't moved to take over the bills for committee chairs yet, but the option remains on the table. Murphy said she was skipping cabin plans for the weekend to make sure work gets done. As of Friday, most negotiations have taken place in hearings that are not publicly posted or open to the general public. A few key budget pieces had public hearings on Thursday — K-12 and human services — though the tax bill has been the only part that has had daily public hearings since the working group process started. The Legislature only passed a handful of the 20 or so budget bills in the regular session. On Thursday, Hortman said the commerce, workforce and human services bills were close to completion. While there had been some trouble with energy and K-12 education, most of the budget deals were approaching completion. House leadership sent Reps. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, and Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, to help mediate. As of Friday, it was unclear if they were any closer to a deal. 'The only ones that are very far from having a fully formed bill ready to post is probably taxes and maybe health,' Hortman said Thursday. 'The rest of them I think you are going to see posted spreadsheets soon and posted language not too long after that.' Inmate rights groups demand say in Stillwater prison closure plan Matt Ehling: This open-meeting law change is a problem. Undo it, legislators MN Legislature: Budget negotiations go behind closed doors Legislature begins work on budget deal ahead of special session MN Legislature: Pension changes for teachers goes to governor to sign
CBS News
23-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Special session headed for after Memorial Day weekend as Minnesota lawmakers continue to work through unresolved budget bills
A special session of the Minnesota Legislature is headed for after Memorial Day weekend as lawmakers continue to sort through unresolved bills that will make up the next two-year state budget. On Thursday, the conference committees between the House and Senate that have transformed into unofficial working groups met to continue their negotiations on spending plans for K-12 education, transportation, human services and economic development. Those panels met in public, after many meetings over the last several days have been in secret. Gov. Tim Walz won't officially call the special session until everything is wrapped up, but now it will be next week at the earliest, leaders conceded. "It is clear we're not going to have a special session by the end of this week because that's tomorrow. But I hope that in the work of today, and people are working really hard today, and hopefully tomorrow, we're able to button these things up,' said Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-Saint Paul. Murphy, GOP House Speaker Lisa Demuth and former DFL Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman gave negotiators until 5 p.m. Wednesday to find agreement between House and Senate versions of different spending plans, but none of them met that deadline. The House leaders told reporters they are pushing for everything to be finalized by Friday and then the bills can be drafted for a mid-week special session next week. "Even though it's slower than we would like, things are going well. It doesn't appear that anyone has quit or given up, and that is a very good sign in the right direction," Demuth said. Hortman noted that the situation becomes more complicated the closer lawmakers get to June with no budget passed. Layoff notices will go out to agencies without continued funding approvals starting June 1 — the government will shutdown if there's no budget by July 1. "That is really the next deadline that comes after May 19," Hortman said. "And human beings are deadline driven. So Friday is May 30. Saturday is May 31 I think people are probably not going to want to be here on Saturday May 31, so I think the drive will be to probably finish by the 30th." The Legislature adjourned the regular session Monday night, and the forthcoming special session will be the first since 2021, the last time there was divided government during a budget-writing year. The margins are slim at the capitol; the House is tied at 67-67 for only the second time in history and the DFL has a one-seat majority in the Senate. That means the make-up is more closely divided than ever before and it forced a compromise on a top-line budget agreement between Walz and legislative leaders with both the GOP and the DFL. Republicans and Democrats shared power on committees with co-chairs, so they had to find agreement among themselves before they could begin conversations with the DFL-led Senate, which is unique. Murphy lamented that dynamic has made the process of reconciling bills between both chambers difficult. "You would expect that the House conferees would come in together united, like, 'we passed a bill, and we're united, and we're going to fight for our position,'" she told reporters Thursday. "But instead, the House is coming in like a two headed monster." Hortman and Demuth — who had a rare joint news conference Friday — both said that despite the bumpy start to the session, they worked well together this year. "We had legitimate disagreements at the beginning of session. So it wasn't about trust or not trust, a relationship or not relationship. It was about a very different view of what was unfolding at the beginning of session," Hortman said. "We're at a different phase of session where we're working together to get things done." Demuth echoed those feelings. "I think that the way that we have set up our organizational agreement here in the House has served us well," she said.
