Break time!
My spidey senses say it's going to be a long night. Budget talks just broke off for the dinner hour (half hour they say). DFL House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and DFL Assistant Senator Majority Leader Tarryl Clark said the recent meetings focused on the tax bill (even though they also said it was a wide ranging discussion).
They said they're trying to sort out the mix of tax relief (direct property tax relief, an increase of Local Government Aid and the size of the property tax cap). Kelliher said they also presented the governor with a military pay proposal for active duty Minnesota National Guard members as well as a pay offset (no further details were provided).
Kelliher said the health plan reserve (which blew up negotiations last night) is back on the table but is still an issue.
She said they may not take up HF1812 (the massive budget bill) tomorrow morning because there isn't an urgency to do so. She said they pushed through the Education Finance Bill and the Real ID bill because they wanted to have enough time to override a potential veto. The governor has until Friday to act on those bills.
She said the governor presented an alternative education funding proposal (which included a $36 increase on the per pupil formula) but she argues it will be more expensive over the long term.
When asked if it was their intention to override the governor's veto of the education finance bill, Kelliher said "We like to have options at this point."
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