Minnesota budget: Lawmakers finished budget work overnight

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota lawmakers met Monday into early Tuesday in a special session to pass a two-year budget, which included voting on 14 bills, to avoid a government shutdown.

This comes after weeks of back-and-forth and missed deadlines to come to a budget agreement after the regular legislative session ended three weeks ago.

What happened:

Lawmakers wrapped up their work around early Tuesday morning, passing final bills overnight for the $66 billion budget. They finished their work a couple of hours before their 7 a.m. deadline to pass a budget.

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One-day special session: What to expect

Local perspective:

The Minnesota House and Senate gaveled in at 10 a.m. Monday. They had 21 hours to finish their work after Democratic and Republican leaders reached an agreement last week on the bills.

"This bipartisan budget 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," said Gov. Tim Walz in a statement on Friday. "It is the result of hundreds of hours of good-faith, bipartisan debate on the best ways to improve the health, safety, and wellbeing of Minnesotans. While all sides had to make concessions in order to reach a compromise, I’m grateful to our legislative partners for their collaboration and dedication to moving Minnesota forward."

The 14 bills make up the bulk of the state's $66 billion two-year budget. Here are the bills lawmakers will work on during Monday's special session:

Modifying MinnesotaCare for Undocumented Adults Bill
Health and Human Services Policy and Appropriations Bill
Commerce and Consumer Protection Policy and Appropriations Bill
Human Services Appropriations Bill
Education Policy and Appropriations Bill
Transportation Finance and Policy Bill
Capitol Investment Bill
Taxes and Local Aids Bill
Data Center Bill
Environment and Natural Resources Appropriations Bill
Jobs, Labor, Economic Development Policy and Appropriations Bill
Higher Education Policy and Finance Bill
Energy, Utilities, Environment and Climate Policy and Appropriations Bill
Technical Revisor Corrections Bill

Special session underway at MN State Capitol

A special session is underway at the Minnesota State Capitol on Monday as lawmakers work to pass a two-year budget, which includes voting on 14 bills, to avoid a government shutdown.

Dig deeper:

One of the most contentious issues with the budget is Republicans' plan to cut MN Care for undocumented adults. So, instead of including that in the health bill, lawmakers have agreed it will be a standalone bill. But the health bill will include language saying the Department of Health gets no funding unless that standalone bill passes.

Compromises and guarantees like that have lawmakers very close to the finish line.

Why you should care:

There is little room for dissension during the special session. Democrats hold a one-vote majority in the Senate and the House is evenly split.

Even if everything goes smoothly, it's going to be a long, marathon day for lawmakers. The special session agreement calls for all work to be done by 7 a.m. Tuesday so the state can avoid sending out more layoff notices to state workers.

MN special session to vote on budget is Monday

After weeks of back-and-forth and missed deadlines, Minnesota lawmakers will meet in a special session to pass a two-year budget, which includes 14 bills. Democrats and Republicans reached an agreement on these bills last week, which prompted Gov. Tim Walz to call the special session to vote on the bills.

Minnesota Politics