Saint Paul, Minnesota
By Marty Owings
As the Minnesota Legislature moves toward its Constitutional deadline,, it may be on a collision course for a shut down. Insiders in both the Senate and the House are starting to express doubts that a budget compromise can be reached. Law Makers say they are concerned that time is running out and that Governor Tim Pawlenty's pledge to veto any new tax increases is making any public compromise increasingly difficult.Republicans say that they are upset because a measure was passed today for an appropriation, without any numbers. They say for the first time in memory the appropriation had zeros in it. Representative Paul Kohls (R) says the LCPFP (Legislative Commission Planning and Fiscal Policy) meetings, designed to create a more transparent process for budget negotiations, are a charade. Kohls says that not once has he been asked for input on fiscal amounts or if he agrees with the numbers.
Kohls is upset at what he calls an attempt by the DFL leadership in the House and Senate to keep negotiations between the two of them. For her part, Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL) says that's simply not true. She says that for the first time these negotiations are being made public in the LCPFP meetings and that the new transparency, while not perfect, is an improvement over the past. Kelliher adds that she's met with Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller less than three times in which they discussed specific budget negotiations.
House Republicans thought at one point that they might have been able to reach a deal if some combination of beer tax, fourth tier increases and racino could have been agreed upon. They say those chances ended today when the House agreed to pass an appropriation with zero's in it. They view this as sharp departure from what they said might have been a rare opportunity for compromise. Several Law Makers, not willing to go on the record, say that Senate Majority Leader Pogemiller has "hijacked" the process.
]The stakes are high for both Legislators and Leadership while the State deals with the toughest budget in its history. For Kelliher and Pogemiller, who may be considering gubernatorial runs they don't want to see a deadlock on their watch. For most Legislators, they understand that the public frustration with gridlock will likely mean a loss of seats for the party seen as most responsible for the impasse.
At this hour, the LCPFP meeting is continuing and at least for now, the negotiations over the budget battle are being heard.
