Politics & Government

GOP Cautiously Optimistic After Weekend Talks

Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican leaders seemed cautiously optimistic after a Saturday of positive negotiations. Sunday talks, however, were oddly and abruptly kept to less than an hour.

This weekend was an eventful one in the ongoing struggle to prevent an all-out government shutdown of Minnesota state services.

Gov. Mark Dayton met with the Republican leadership extensively on Saturday and, according to Session Daily, reached consensus on a number of issues including state government finance, K-12 education, transportation, public safety, jobs and economic development.

House Speaker Kurt Zellers (R-Maple Grove) was understandly tight-lipped about the details of the talks but he sounded optimistic on Saturday evening.

Find out what's happening in Maple Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We’ve gone through spreadsheets, we took out highlighters, we’re looking at numbers," Zellers told Session Daily. "It was a very productive day. We covered a lot of issue areas in the time we were in there."

But while it appears progress is being made, there is still cause for concern after Sunday talks ended just 60 minutes into discussion and both Dayton and lawmakers avoided the media, Forbes reported.

Find out what's happening in Maple Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The parties are searching for common ground in their proposed state budgets, which differ by $1.8 billion. Dayton is hoping to tax the highest-earning 2 percent of Minnesotans, while the Republican leadership is staunchly opposed to any new taxation.

Elsewhere in Minnesota, the looming shutdown has left construction crews across the state working overtime to ensure road safety by finishing projects that would otherwise have been completed after July 1.

Finance & Commerce reported that MnDOT has given the green light for crews to work “longer-than-usual workdays and unscheduled weekend work to make sure road projects are (prepared) in the event of a shutdown.”

MnDOT is just one of many state departments hoping to avoid an expensive long-term shutdown.

MPR News reported that a state government shutdown could cost the DNR millions of dollars in lost productivity, delays and financial penalties.

Here is a comprehensive list of costs associated with the shutdown.

No indication has been given as to whether talks between the governor and the GOP leadership will resume. Without a deal, state services are scheduled to begin shutting down Friday, July 1. 


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