Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Friday, May 16, 2008
House Speaker: Session ends before sunrise Sunday
ST. PAUL (AP) — Minnesota leaders said this evening they were on the brink of a session-ending deal that would mean curbs on local property taxes, extra dollars for schools and the elimination of a nearly $1 billion budget deficit.
A few details still needed to be firmed up, but lawmakers from both parties indicated a conceptual agreement was almost nailed down. House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher predicted flatly that session would end before sunrise Sunday.
“This is a situation where the train is picking up speed. As the train picks up speed and leaves the station it’s going to be harder and harder for things to get in the way of stopping it,” Kelliher said as she and others emerged from a meeting with Pawlenty.
She extended her train analogy to voice confidence that the final deal will also include state money toward a proposed Minneapolis-to-St. Paul light rail line.
Her positive take was shared by Pawlenty as he left the Capitol for an evening speech to Wisconsin Republicans. He was due back later today.
“We’re close,” he said. “We’ve got to work out the pieces. If it’s going to happen, it could happen tonight or tomorrow morning. But it looks like it could happen tonight.”
Added House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall: “There would have to be something really major to happen to unravel things.”
Things were pushing in the direction of a handshake agreement all day. Final votes on the main elements probably won’t happen until Saturday afternoon at the earliest.
Democrats agreed to a property tax relief plan that would prevent local levies from rising more than 3.9 percent a year. But they were also holding out for more cash for local government aid and direct relief for homeowners.
Midnight Sunday is the Legislature’s last chance to pass bills or attempt to override vetoes.
The two sides were expected to sign off on about $355 million in spending cuts, a corporate tax change worth $100 million in new revenue and a plan to drain $500 million from the state’s rainy day fund.
Seifert said he expected the final package to contain aid to schools totaling $51 per student, which he described as “an eyedropper of relief for a parched tongue.” Democrats said it would be a bridge to 2009, when the state’s next two-year budget will be crafted and school cash woes can be more fully addressed.
Still unknown was how much cash would go to cities and counties to cushion the effect of a levy limit and how much would feed programs that provide direct relief for homeowners.
Also in the mix was a vetoed health care package that would reorient payments toward keeping patients well and bringing down costs. Pawlenty gave that proposal “an outside chance” of being included in a final deal, while Kelliher emphasized its importance to Democrats.
“Health care costs will continue to rise in our state and across this country if we don’t do something,” she said. “And we have an opportunity in Minnesota to make a real impact and continue to be a leader on health care.”
The main disagreement revolved around whether to expand the MinnesotaCare health program for the working poor, which Democrats want and the governor opposes. The heads of legislative health care panels were in continued talks with Human Services Commissioner Cal Ludeman.
With some details being kept under wraps, it was unclear what would happen with a proposed state park on Lake Vermilion. Putting together a supplemental construction projects bill was a side issue for the moment, but Pawlenty said, “It’s on everybody’s mind.”
Away from the negotiations, votes were being taken on smaller bills in the House and Senate. Both passed legislation that would impose a curfew and passenger limits on new teen drivers, and the House adopted another bill requiring school districts to offer sex education in grades 7 through 12.
If things take a sour turn, Pawlenty could call legislators back into special session or drain state reserves and cut spending on his own.
Meanwhile, Pawlenty added to his growing veto tally with two more strikes.
He blocked a bill regulating contracts between surrogate mothers and would-be parents. The “gestational carrier” legislation would have established ground rules for arrangements that are already happening, including requirements that the surrogate be at least 21 and undergo a mental health evaluation.
Pawlenty said the bill “raises some significant ethical and public policy issues that have not been adequately addressed,” citing the lack of a compensation limit and protections for the surrogate mother.
“The unborn child is treated throughout the bill as a chattel, the rights over which are set and enforced under the terms of a contract,” he wrote in his veto letter.
He also vetoed a bill that would have given adoptive children greater ability to learn the identity of their birth parents.
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