MN Legislature: Budget negotiations go behind closed doors

Lawmakers continued trying to piece together Minnesota s next two-year budget on Wednesday though details of the process remained largely behind closed doors Only one bill that s part of the billion budget framework deal is getting general hearings so far taxes Other meetings on the dozen or so bills legislators need to pass aren t publicly posted or open to the society Since lawmakers didn t finish a budget by the May deadline they re meeting in working groups to get bills in shape before returning for a special session to pass a budget Major areas of the budget like the K- schooling and strength bills that account for about two-thirds of state spending are still incomplete Transportation and higher instruction also still need work Working groups leave society in the dark Leaders say they hope a special session could happen as soon as the end of the week or possibly following the Memorial Day weekend Members of the House tied between Republican and Democratic-Farmer-Labor members and the one-seat DFL-majority Senate are working on remaining bills in private discussions to hash out final details before Gov Tim Walz calls them back to the Capitol Since they aren t in session they are instead meeting for working groups rather than as full-fledged committees Much like the overarching budget negotiations between the governor and legislative leaders earlier this month the residents is in the dark about what s happening during these discussions When it comes to the groups as of now evolving budget bills Matt Ehling a board member with Minnesotans for Open Regime commented putting key decisions behind closed doors can obscure who or what influenced decisions Having more access to the process would allow the citizens to see what legislators are weighing and what they re not weighing he noted The rationale is often as crucial as the outcome Ehling declared it s during this part of the process where the general loses sight of how state leaders make decisions There may have been community hearings on various bills in the past inadequate months but now the leaders go underground and emerge with a deal which they then sign off on with limited discussion in a masses committee They basically have created a situation where they block out the general from being able to weigh in on these issues explained Hamline University political science professor David Schultz These are working groups They re not official It s just a way of avoiding transparency and avoiding accountability Budget deal There also isn t any publicly available document with complete details on the deal between Walz and legislative leaders Preponderance of the information has come in the form of statements from leaders And the information hasn t invariably been complete For example Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth made it seem like cuts to state aid for private schools are off the table while House DFL leader Melissa Hortman has explained reporters that they remain subject to negotiations A cut to the state family and clinical leave payroll tax touted by Demuth as part of the deal turned out to be a decrease to a cap on the maximum rate Meanwhile lawmakers working on the taxes bill weren t in complete agreement Tuesday about how the agreement would shape their decision-making Sen Ann Rest DFL-New Hope revealed they d seek further guidance from leaders on how to proceed Schultz stated leaving the details of the global budget agreement externally vague serves a useful purpose for legislators who will have to make complicated compromises He called the budget agreement publicized by the governor Senate DFL Majority Leader Erin Murphy and leaders in the - tied House last Thursday more of a framework than a deal By keeping it so general it gives each side an ability to spin the deal in a way that the majority favors them he mentioned If you put too much detail into it you might not be able to sell the deal to either the rest of your members of your party or to your supporters or to the voters Toward compromise At least for the top-level agreements Hortman noted private meetings between leaders and the governor are the best way to arrive at a compromise before delegating work to different committees Things didn t work as well when cameras were in the room during past administrations she revealed You need people to be able to say what s their bottom line and to make their emotional pitch and to say where their caucuses are and say where their votes are Hortman reported reporters Monday People have to really show their cards So that is a space that has not ever and likely will not ever be transparent Lawmakers and the governor have to finish the budget by June or the state establishment shuts down Committee leads had until p m Wednesday to finish their work Hortman reported reporters Monday that she and other leaders could get involved with the process if there weren t any agreements by that time Related Articles Legislature begins work on budget deal ahead of special session MN Legislature Pension changes for teachers goes to governor to sign Big pieces of MN budget unfinished Legislature to return for special session Former state legislator Melisa L pez Franzen ends campaign for U S Senate MN Legislature sends Stillwater prison closure to governor key budget pieces remain