Minnesota Shutdown

Lawmakers Still Hammering Out Details To End Minnesota's Government Shutdown

David Taintor | July 18, 2011, 9:36AM

Minnesota State Capitol

What seemed like a quick end to Minnesota's government shutdown is proving to take a bit longer.

Lawmakers worked over the weekend on language that reflects the budget deal Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican lawmakers agreed upon last week. The deal is a compromise on a GOP budget offer made on June 30, just before the state's shutdown. It involves delaying more money to K-12 and borrowing money from future tobacco payments. Critics describe it as a quick fix, not a long-term budget solution.

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Minnesota

Lawmakers Reach Deal To End Minnesota's Government Shutdown

David Taintor | July 14, 2011, 7:45PM

Minnesota state Capitol building

After two weeks of government shutdown, Minnesota is on its way to being open for business. Lawmakers on Thursday evening announced they had reached an budget agreement to end the shutdown.

Earlier Thursday, Dayton agreed to compromise on the GOP's budget offer from June 30, just before the state's government shutdown. But he did so under certain conditions: that the GOP remove its policy issues from the budget, drop a 15 percent reduction to the number of state employees in all agencies and support a $500 million bonding bill.

Now that they have a deal, Dayton said the shutdown will end "very soon," according to local reports.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch said the final details are still being worked out, but they have reached a "framework agreement," Minnesota Public radio reported:

Koch said the agreement includes delaying more payments to schools, and borrowing against the state's future tobacco payments. The agreement would raise $1.4 billion in new revenue.

Dayton met with Republican lawmakers for three hours Thursday. Appearing after the meeting with Koch and Republican House Speaker Kurt Zellers, Dayton expressed the tough reality of the agreement. "No one's going to be happy with this, which is the essence of compromise," he said. That means, for the time being, the governor will shelve his plan to raise taxes on Minnesota's millionaires.

Read more at MPR.

Minnesota Shutdown

No Budget Talks Scheduled In Minnesota; Dayton Offers More Proposals To End The Shutdown

David Taintor | July 12, 2011, 5:45AM

Gov. Mark Dayton (D-MN)

No budget talks are scheduled in Minnesota, where the state's government shutdown has entered its second week.

But in a letter to Republican House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Republican Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton said he is willing to meet the legislative leaders to work out a deal.

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Minnesota

Lawmakers Tight-Lipped As Minnesota Government Shutdown Looms

David Taintor | June 28, 2011, 6:00AM

Minnesota State Capitol

Budget negotiations are going down to the wire in Minnesota -- where the state is heading for a government shutdown if a budget deal isn't passed by the end of the week. And lawmakers are keeping tight-lipped about the progress of their negotiations.

Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton met with Republican House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Republican Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch Monday evening to continue hammering out a deal. But details of the meetings have, for the most part, been kept under wraps. The meeting Monday follows negotiations over the weekend that broke off abruptly Sunday.

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Voter ID

Minn. GOP House Speaker Backs Off Calling Voting A 'Privilege,' Not A Right

Eric Kleefeld | April 22, 2011, 3:46PM

Minnesota State House Speaker Kurt Zellers (R)

Minnesota state House Speaker Kurt Zellers (R), who is strongly pushing for passage of a voter ID law, has now backed away from comments he made in a radio appearance on Wednesday -- when he said of the act of voting: "I think it's a privilege, it's not a right."

"When you go to even a Burger King or a McDonald's and use your debit card, they'll ask you to see your ID," Zellers said during a late-night interview, the Star Tribune reports. "Should we have to do that when we vote, something that is one of the most sacred -- I think it's a privilege, it's not a right. Everybody doesn't get it, because if you go to jail or if you commit some heinous crime your rights are taken away. This is a privilege."

In fact, voting is referred to as being a right in numerous amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The next day, Zellers walked back the comment. "I fully understand it's a right we all have," Zellers said on Thursday. "I probably should have said it a little bit better at that late hour at night."

According to the Star Tribune, the comment occurred some time after 11 p.m.