Lawmakers adjourn, ending hope for weekend budget vote

07/02/2005

Patrick Condon,
Associated Press
July 2, 2005

Most lawmakers went home for the holiday weekend Saturday, as an agreement to end the partial government shutdown remained out of reach.

The House of Representatives adjourned around 11 a.m. and the Senate broke up about 90 minutes later, but only after more venting of frustration, anger and some blame as the shutdown stretched into its second day.

“Minnesota has always been the state that works,’’ said Rep. Lyndon Carlson, DFL-Crystal, referring to the state’s long tradition of good government. “We’re no longer the state that works in the eyes of the general public.’’

Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Senate Democratic Leader Dean Johnson, the principal antagonists in the ongoing state budget dispute, met for over an hour Saturday morning. Johnson said the tone was positive, but indicated there are still disagreements over how to restart serious negotiations after talks flamed out Thursday night.

Democrats in the Senate, hoping to halt the shutdown that’s left 9,000 state employees out of work and interrupted the delivery of some services, passed a bill that would re-open government through July 11, allowing negotiators time to finish their work.

House Democrats attempted to pass a similar bill there, But Republicans who control the chamber refused to consider such a move, saying it was a political ploy that would remove a sense of urgency from the talks.

There were few reports that the ongoing shutdown was affecting the lives of many Minnesotans over the holiday weekend, since most state offices would have been closed anyway. The most noticeable effect over the weekend was likely to be on road trippers, who were unable to stop at closed highway rest stops.

Still, there was a recognition among lawmakers that citizens were growing more riled by the dysfunctionality of their elected leaders.

“The confidence the public has in this Legislature, which was probably low to begin with, is probably nonexistent now,’’ said Sen. Dave Kleis, R-St. Cloud.

In fact, some lawmakers were upset at being sent home until Tuesday, saying they should stay in St. Paul and spend every available minute trying to solve the budget impasse.

“They should have locked us all in a room,’’ said Rep. Leon Lillie, DFL-Maplewood.

But, both Johnson and House Speaker Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon, agreed that it was better to let rank and file members go home and cool off, as long as leaders can’t reach a compromise.

“I think it’s good for members to be able to go home and meet family and friends and sleep in their own beds,’’ Johnson said.

All four top legislative leaders, along with Pawlenty’s chief of staff Dan McElroy, met for about 90 minutes in the late afternoon, and planned another meeting to start at 6 p.m. Though all said the tone of the meeting was encouraging, they reported little progress in bridging the divides that continue to hold up a deal.