Midnight stroll

As I posted earlier, the governor and legislative leaders will resume budget negotiations on Sunday afternoon. During a break in negotiations on Saturday night, Governor Pawlenty came out of his office and talked with the three committed reporters (Rachel Stassen-Berger, who has more about the night on the Political Animal, Eric Eskola and myself) who were staking out the budget talks.

After ten minutes or so, Sen. Pogemiller and House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher returned to continue budget negotiations. Pogemiller asked the governor to take a stroll around the Capitol to chat with the DFL crew. The governor agreed and returned ten minutes later. When he returned within earshot of reporters, Pawlenty jokingly shook Kelliher's hand and said they agreed to use the entire Health Care Access Fund to balance the budget. As you know by now, that's been a sticking point in budget talks.

The governor and lawmakers all agree that budget talks are going well and they're optimistic that they can compromise on a deal. That's a dramatic difference from last year's talks.