Budget talks continue but sides say ‘Shhhh!’
From MPR's Tim Pugmire:
DFL Governor Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders say they're committed to lengthy negotiations over the next two days to try to reach a budget deal and avoid a government shutdown.
That potential shutdown is now just one week away. After an initial discussion this morning, both sides emerged from Republican House Speaker Kurt Zellers' office and announced they would not comment on specifics during the course of negotiations. Dayton said the format of the talks is a work in progress.
"We're not constrained to any particular format," Dayton said. "We'll see what's effective. Again, I think we've agreed among ourselves we'll get more done more effectively if we say okay, we're not going to comment on the particulars until we have a result."
Speaker Zellers said he planned to work hard and quickly. But he said he would also keep negotiating beyond Saturday if necessary.
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