Politics & Government
No Budget Agreement in Sight on Final Day of Regular Session
Golden Valley's Winkler tweets his frustrations.
After a heated weekend of debate—and still $1.8 million apart from agreement with Gov. Mark Dayton on a budget—the Minnesota House of Representatives resumes at 10 a.m. today, the final day of regular session.
Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL – Golden Valley) wanted to continue talks Sunday night, saying, “We’ve got legislation to do. We’ve got other bills to pass.”
Winkler summed up his sentiments of the weekend’s progress in a Tweet, even as the House worked its way through a host of amendments Sunday evening.
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“Nothing is going on,” Winkler wrote. “The GOP is passing unimportant bills and not negotiating with the Governor on revenue. The session is over.”
The issue that grabbed the most floor time and public protest centered on another issue entirely: putting a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage before voters in 2012.
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“Predictions on how long before GOP turns against their incompetent leadership? No budget, no flood relief, but gay marriage and photo ID,” Winkler tweeted earlier Sunday afternoon.
Winkler also republished a now-viral image of Rep. Tony Cornish (R- Good Thunder) responding to an email questioning his vote on the amendment. The response, appearing to be from Cornish, said simply, “Give it a rest!!!!!!!!”
The legislature will have until close of session today to reach a budget agreement with Dayton or risk a government shutdown.
