Winkler Supports Judge's Shutdown Ruling

Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL-District 44B), who earlier this month  made by Minnesota’s attorney general, said Wednesday that he supports a Ramsey County judge’s ruling to fund certain core functions in case of a state shutdown.

Winkler, who represents Golden Valley, said the ruling made by Ramsey County Chief Judge Kathleen Gearin “walked a fine line” between preserving residents’ constitutional rights and overstepping the court’s bounds.

“I still disagree with the idea that a government can order money to be spent in case of a shutdown. But I do understand the other side of it,” Winkler said. “With two days left (until a shutdown), I largely support what the order says.”

The representative was critical of Attorney General Lori Swanson’s funding petition filed in mid-June. Winkler said Swanson’s request had an overly broad definition of “core functions,” and would have discouraged Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and the Republican-controlled legislature from reaching a budget compromise. Winkler called Gearin’s ruling “much more narrow” and said it encourages compromise because many state government functions would still be lost in case of a shutdown.

The Star Tribune reports that Gearin found that some programs, such as horse racing and child care aid programs not directly tied into the federal welfare system, were important but did not count as core services. The judge acknowledged that these programs would suffer harm from a shutdown but said her authority was limited by the state’s constitution.

Despite the looming impact of a shutdown, Winkler said he doesn’t see a budget deal being reached by the end of the day Thursday. He added that he would be “surprised” if a shutdown lasted less than a week.

Winkler said meetings were going on Wednesday between Dayton and Republican legislative leaders at the Capitol in St. Paul.