Lawmakers look back on efforts, ahead to likely special session

The new House Republican majority has had less than 48 hours to reflect on its work over the last five months as they prepare for the likelihood of an education-focused special session.

But that doesn’t mean they haven’t been taking stock in their accomplishments this session — one which House Speaker Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) said was highlighted by his caucus’s willingness to “end divide and conquer” politics at the Capitol in favor of a bipartisan approach to “solving the problems Minnesotans sent us here to solve.”

“The budget bills we put on the governor’s desk obviously had to pass a Republican House and a Democrat Senate,” Daudt said in a press conference Wednesday. “We hope that all of those will earn the governor’s support.”

Daudt said he is proud the House got its work done on time, with the only lingering items being legacy funding and a possible bonding bill that would focus on emergency flood aid and more money for the ongoing Capitol restoration.

In addition to the $400 million in increased E-12 education spending the Republican House and DFL-controlled Senate passed in the waning days of session – one that adds more than 70 percent of the new funding to the per pupil formula – Daudt said he was extremely pleased the House and Senate were able to pass legislation that will bring new reforms and $138 million in aid to long-term care facilities and nursing homes in Greater Minnesota.

“For a lot of communities it isn’t just about taking care of our aging loved ones,” Daudt said. “In many of these smaller towns these long-term care facilities are the largest employer. They are now going to be able to pay their employees a more competitive wage and something that is going to help them support their family in a better way.”

‘Could have, should have’

In contrast to the House majority’s assertion that they got their work done on time, this was the “could have, should have” session if you ask House Minority Leader Paul Thissen (DFL-Mpls).

At an ensuing press conference, Thissen and several other DFL House members scored the Republican-led session an ‘F’ for failing to freeze college tuition for students attending public schools, blocking the Working Parents Act and failing to pass a comprehensive transportation package they promised Minnesotans was their top priority.

“We should have and could have done much better,” Thissen said.

House Majority Leader Joyce Peppin (R-Rogers) said the “lights on” transportation spending bill would allow the state to continue to fund its infrastructure, and touted the Republican’s ability to defeat a Senate DFL-proposed gas tax to fund transportation as victory for Minnesota families.

Special session on E-12 education likely

Although Dayton’s promise to veto the $17 billion E-12 education bill — HF845*/SF811 — that is likely to soon land on his desk puts one example of House Republicans’ bipartisan approach in jeopardy, Daudt said he is confident any special session that might occur can be wrapped up in short order.

He said that is evidenced by the last-minute negotiations House Republican leadership and Dayton have confirmed took place in the closing hours of session, where the two sides came close to reaching an education budget agreement.

Both parties to negotiations admit they were close to a deal – with House Republican leadership willing to offer an additional $100 million for education spending, and Dayton willing to drop his universal prekindergarten program in exchange for $125 million on top of the $400 million increase the House and Senate had already passed.

Dayton said Tuesday he continues to make universal preschool his top priority, although he is willing to continue to search for compromise in the coming days before he would call a special session.

Republicans “forced a special session by refusing to compromise with Gov. Dayton on his priority to invest in a better education for Minnesota’s youngest learners,” Thissen said.

Daudt denied claims that Republicans are to blame and said he hopes all sides can reach an agreement in time for school districts to have assurances about their education dollars heading into the new school year.

'Don't need to start from square one'

The House speaker isn’t confident that a special session would start before June 1 layoff notices could be sent to the Department of Education, which would lose funding if a budget is not passed by July 1. However, school districts would continue to be funded at their current level until a new education budget is passed.

Daudt said his side is willing to continue bargaining with the governor for an agreement where they left off late-Monday.

“The fact that (Dayton) doesn’t object to anything in (the bill) leads me to believe we don’t need to start from square one,” Daudt said.

He believes the governor realizes that his universal preschool program is probably no longer viable as a sticking point in those negotiations. “I think it’s going to be a heavy lift for (the governor) to accomplish that in the next 30 days, especially if he wasn’t able (to convince legislators) in the last five months,” Daudt said.

Thissen called the notion that there is no support for universal preschool “false,” and noted that Willmar voters on Tuesday approved a school referendum to construct of a new pre-K through fifth grade elementary school.

Daudt maintained that legislators heard from school officials that increased support for K-12 is what was needed this session, not universal public preschool. 

— Sue Hegarty contributed to this story