Budget watch
No word on whether there will be budget talks tonight but here's the latest:
Governor Pawlenty and legislative leaders met last night and haven't met since. DFL House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher said one of the sticking points is what programs will be cut from the budget. They want to cut $355 million from the budget but the governor has put some caveats on those cuts. Kelliher said he didn't seem willing to cut his own spending priorities. She said they have agreed on $215 million in cuts but said the governor has to think about his top priorities in the next few days.
"We can't balance this budget on just making cuts to either things that either the Legislature cares about or that a lot of Minnesotans care about and not things the governor cares about. We all have to share in this..."
DFL Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller said they "were very close to an agreement" and is hopeful there will be one. He said they would process the bills in "an orderly, timely fashion" if there isn't an agreement.
There are still some other issues on the table. Governor Pawlenty wants a firm property tax cap and there is disagreement on whether $48 million from a Health Care Access Fund should be used to erase a portion of the $935 million projected budget deficit. The governor didn't have time to talk about budget negotiations when reporters contacted him tonight. I'm sure he'll address it during a news conference tomorrow morning.
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