Special session gets off to showy start

05/24/2005

Brian Bakst, Associated Press
May 25, 2005


Their voices brimmed with frustration and their faces revealed a weariness brought on by a drawn-out budget battle.

In a showy start to an otherwise uneventful first day of a special session, state leaders crowded around a table in Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s office Tuesday in an attempt to untangle a dispute that forced them into overtime. The session began 12 hours earlier and has no set end date.

Abandoning the typically secluded bargaining sessions, the negotiators invited reporters and anyone else to eavesdrop. The open-door policy all but guaranteed nothing significant would be decided.

Hands were extended for handshakes that didn’t happen. Deeply held beliefs were restated. Progress was minimal.

“We want to re-engage you on how we get the session finished up in a timely, orderly fashion,’’ Pawlenty said in a serious, businesslike tone at the outset of the hourlong meeting.

He touted his latest offer, which called for a 75-cent charge on every pack of cigarettes, calling it the most palatable option for raising money. It would bring in $380 million over two years.

As conversation moved around the table, Republican House Speaker Steve Sviggum and DFL Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson both emphasized their eagerness to finish but neither gave much ground on the issues that divide them.

Sviggum, R-Kenyon, insisted that any new infusion of money for public schools come with increased expectations and changes to allow public money to be used for private school tuition for certain students. Johnson, DFL-Willmar, demanded that any additional education money come from the state treasury and not tap into local property taxes.

They did agree to convene “working groups’’ on budget bills dealing with K-12 education, health and social services, agriculture and environment programs and taxes. They’ll rotate control of those panels every 24 hours.

How much power the groups have to bargain remains to be seen. Johnson wants to open the door to public testimony and let negotiators cut deals even though leaders haven’t agreed on a way to pay for the new spending.

Sviggum criticized the idea to reporters after the meeting. “You can’t do that. People don’t do that in their family budget. They don’t do that in their business budget. You can’t do that in governing the state,’’ he said. He said the size of the pie needs to be determined first.

Besides passing a two-year, $30 billion budget, lawmakers are trying to erase a $466 million projected deficit.

There were some lighter moments — like when Johnson told a stone-faced Pawlenty, “You can smile.’’ And there was open acknowledgment of some embellishment for the benefit of onlookers.

“We’re all posturing a little bit for our friends in the press,’’ Pawlenty said to no one in particular.