A false start on daylong budget talks?

Posted at 6:07 AM on June 23, 2011 by Tom Scheck (9 Comments)
Filed under: 2011 Shutdown

Republicans in the House and Senate planned on holding daylong meetings with Gov. Dayton on Friday and Saturday with the hopes of reaching a budget deal and averting a state government shutdown. But those talks are even in jeopardy after there was a disagreement over who should be involved in the talks.

Senate Republican Caucus spokesman Michael Brodkorb issued a statement late last night saying Gov. Dayton agreed to talks that would only include Dayton, GOP House Speaker Kurt Zellers and GOP Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch. But Brodkorb said in an e-mail that the talks are now in jeopardy because Dayton wants DFL House Minority Leader Paul Thissen and DFL Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk involved as well.

Governor Dayton communicated that he was now requesting that Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk and House Minority Leader Paul Thissen would also be in the room for negotiations. The Governor admitted that this was not part of the original agreement. Rep. Thissen and Sen. Bakk have offered little, if anything, to recent budget negotiations. They have also previously stated that they have no intention of offering a global budget solution.

While Senate Majority Leader Koch is committed to reaching a budget solution and preventing a state government shutdown, Governor Dayton's decision to break the agreement calls into question whether there will be any meetings on Friday or Saturday. Senate Majority Leader Koch is available for direct comment on this disappointing development.

Dayton and the Legislature have until July 1 to reach a budget deal. State government will shut down if no agreement is reached.

UPDATE:

Gov. Dayton's Senior Communications Advisor Bob Hume issued a statement Thursday morning:

"The governor's priority is finding a fair and balanced budget solution. We urge the Republican leadership to reconsider the gravity of the situation Minnesotans are facing and meet tomorrow morning at 9:00 am so we can work in a bipartisan way on a meaningful compromise."

Comments (9)

From here, this has all the trappings of a sham. Rep. Thissen and Sen. Bakk represent the minority in their respective chambers. What does the Speaker and the Majority Leader fear about having them involved when they have the majority?

What's next? Objections over the shape of the conference table and the seating arrangement?

Posted by John O. | June 23, 2011 6:28 AM

A gentle reminder to the buffalo from Buffalo. The people of Minnesota did not elect you to run the state; they elected Mark Dayton. If you think you are the better candidate, you can run for governor. Until then, don't be too full of yourself or any other solid waste;; your job is transitory and it's beginning to appear to be of short duration. I am hoping that Mark Dayton standing up to Grover and the billionaires (sounds lika a rock band) will be the beginning of the end days of that rock band running the state. It will also be the beginning of the period of forgetting the horrors of the Pawlenty years.

Posted by danno | June 23, 2011 7:12 AM

Koch and Zellers appear to have lost control. Brodkorb now speaks uncontested for the GOP, and apparently wants a shutdown. Reminiscent of Rush Limbaugh showing former GOP national chair Michael Steele the door, isn't it?.

Posted by Ralph Crammedin | June 23, 2011 7:51 AM

This seems like a terribly petty reason to back out of talks. Almost like maybe, just maybe, they don't really want to negotiate at all.

Posted by Rob | June 23, 2011 8:34 AM

Sounds like it should be a pool party. Warming up this weekend. The more the merrier. I'll bring my waterboard! That's how to get compromise.

Posted by Surfer Dude | June 23, 2011 8:35 AM

The GOP majorities were elected to be representatives for what the people in their districts want. I do not want higher taxes - the Department of Revenue Tax Incidence Study says ALL Minnesotans will see higher taxes under Dayton's plan. My husband and I are not from Minnesota, but live here because we like it and can afford it. If that changes, we will leave and the state will lose revenue from our taxes. My husband's employer, one of the largest in the state, has also threatened to leave if taxes continue to rise. We will leave with this company. I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels this way.

Posted by Sasha LaBarre | June 23, 2011 10:39 AM

Could you please provide a link to the Department of Revenue Tax Incidence Study where it shows all Minnesotans will pay more taxes? Page 43 shows the Tax Burden broken down by income. The top 5% do not have as much of a burden as the rest of the income levels. Please send a link because I want to understand what you mean.

Posted by Barbaritamx | June 23, 2011 12:36 PM

@Sasha, while you're providing links to your questionable post, please link us to your husband's employer's "threat" to leave the State "if taxes continue to rise."

Frankly, I don't believe you. "Threats" such as you posted are all over blogs and Internet comment sections, but rarely come from responsible leaders of major corporations. Even more rarely are such "threats" executed.

Posted by Ralph Crammedin | June 23, 2011 2:40 PM

Sasha, I am so happy for you that you got yours, and I understand that there are people who don't care what anybody else gets. Have you considered that one of the reasons you like Minnesota is that we Minnesotans have paid the price? Tim Pawlenty was an anachronism, a puppet controlled by the Taxpayers' League with no interest in Minnesota except as a springboard to higher office. Mark Dayton is a much more typical Minnesota governor--sincerely caring about the quality of life in Minnesota. To move here for the quality of life and then complain about paying for it seems quite self-involved to a non-objective observer like me.

Posted by danno | June 24, 2011 6:41 AM

Services

• Hourly Newscast
• HD Radio
• iPhone App / Mobile
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts
• Submit your photos
• Videos
• Weather
• Most e-mailed stories