MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz sat down with top lawmakers Thursday to try to bring the divided Legislature closer to agreement on the budget bills that they were unable
Minnesota takes first steps toward a shutdown
Minnesota leaders racing to avoid expensive shutdown The costs of a delayed budget have started to accumulate in the face of July 1 deadline. June 5, 2021 5:29pm Text size Copy shortlink:
State leaders remain adamant that they can avoid a government shutdown that could prove far more problematic than Minnesota s last closure a decade ago, which cost taxpayers at least $85 million and put 19,000 people out of work.
Lawmakers need to pass a new budget before July 1 to prevent a shutdown and are behind schedule as they race to beat the clock. Meanwhile, the expenses that come with closing down state government are already are starting to add up.
Lawmakers are still negotiating Minnesota’s next two-year budget and won’t meet the goal of Friday set by their leaders for agreeing on the final numbers that will go into the big spending bills that lawmakers must pass in the coming weeks.