No Budget Deal Reached, Shutdown a Day Away

The political arena in Minnesota today was filled with potential, plans and posturing but ostensibly little progress on the $1.8 billion that separates Gov. Mark Dayton and GOP lawmakers from a budget deal.   

At around 9:30 p.m. this evening the parties concluded what, by all accounts, was their final round of budget negotiations without an agreement.

According to Michael Brodkorb, executive assistant to the majority caucus, the governor has left the Capitol and there are no more meetings between the parties scheduled for tonight.  

This with a little more than 24 hours to go before a government shutdown.  

According to tweets from Star Tribune political reporter Rachel Stassen-Berger, House Majority Leader Matt Dean (R-Dellwood) has said the parties are “very, very close on many issues” and that it would be “difficult to explain a government shutdown.”

Moreover, Deputy Senate Majority Leader Geoff Michel (R-Edina) told Stassen-Berger after the meeting that the parties have made progress on “almost every deal.”    

Lawmakers and the governor met this morning from 9-10:30 a.m. and quietly adjourned before slipping out a back door without offering a statement or status update.

Meetings at 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. finished much the same way.

MinnPost also reported that unless a late-night deal is made, Republican legislators are planning to “march on St. Paul” tomorrow morning to demonstrate to the public their willingness to work.  

Earlier Wednesday, Ramsey County Chief Judge Kathleen Gearin ruled that some core functions must still be funded in the event of a shutdown. This ruling would preserve state aid to cities and school districts, but would not extend funding to other areas, such as horse racing and child care aid programs not directly tied into the federal welfare system. For more on the ruling, see this St. Louis Park Patch .