Stillwater prison closure, immigrant care debate may imperil MN budget deal

Top Minnesota lawmakers and Gov Tim Walz reached a budget deal with just a handful of days left in the legislative session but there are signs it could face a bumpy ride as the Monday deadline to pass bills closes in Democratic-Farmer-Labor and Republican lawmakers have already objected to key compromises that allowed the deal to materialize including ending state-funded soundness benefits for adults in the U S without legal immigration status Margins are extremely tight in both the Senate and House and a handful of defections on various bills that form the budget would stall progress The DFL has a one-seat majority in the Senate and the House is tied - between the parties The DFL s progressive wing has already signaled it won t encouragement ending MinnesotaCare benefits for immigrants protesting outside the governor s reception room at the Capitol Thursday as he and legislative leaders briefed reporters on the deal A proposal to close the -year-old state prison in Stillwater is meeting pushback as well Opposition to aspects of deal As a group of legislators and clergy held a news conference and prayer vigil against the wellness care cuts outside the House chambers Friday members of the state s constituents employee unions briefed reporters on why they oppose closing the Stillwater prison which employs more than people The proposed stated budget agreement that includes the closure of Stillwater Correctional Facility is not only shortsighted it s downright dangerous disruptive and deeply disrespectful to the workers that keep the society safe and the inmates safe declared Bart Andersen executive director of the American Federation of State County Municipal Employees Council AFSCME and MAPE the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees aren t the only ones opposed to the closure either Two Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday afternoon voiced concerns about how speedily the proposal came together and called for more scrutiny This is a shortsighted and alarming growth there were no committee hearings and no bill language on the issue and I am very concerned that this proposal lacks the thorough vetting necessary for such a large change Sen Warren Limmer R-Maple Grove noted in a declaration Sen Michael Kreun R-Blaine called the proposal soft on crime and noted he had concerns about the general safety implications of closing the state s second-largest prison in the next four years and sending its inmates to other facilities While the state Department of Corrections had warned for years of deteriorating conditions and growing maintenance costs at the aging Stillwater prison the proposal still caught a large number of by surprise Backers say it ll save the state million a year Reality of a future revenue shortfall The state will have to find savings somewhere by the end of the decade as it faces a billion deficit in the - fiscal year Walz Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy DFL-St Paul House Speaker Lisa Demuth R-Cold Spring and House Leader Melissa Hortman DFL-Brooklyn Park revealed hard-earned compromises in their deal will put the state on the road to confronting that reality For the bulk part their global budget deal aims to address a structural imbalance state budget talk for the governing body spending more than it raises by controlling increase in spending on areas like development and human services spending State leaders agreed as with any compromise no one came away perfectly happy DFLers reported their GOP colleagues wouldn t budge on the MinnesotaCare issue and that they weren t happy with the move Children in the U S illegally will still be eligible for benefits however No one got everything they wished Walz notified reporters Thursday There were very formidable conversations about issues that were very dear to each of these caucuses MinnesotaCare benefits Republicans say higher-than-expected enrollment in the new MinnesotaCare benefits could cost the state down the road More than people had enrolled in the initiative since it opened late last year DFL-controlled state establishment budgeted about million for the effort when they created it in but Republicans say it could cost the state as much as million by the end of the decade and make Minnesota draw more benefit-seekers DFLers state executives and other supporters dispute that projection and say cutting off benefits will interrupt lifesaving cancer treatments and dialysis Taxes other elements of budget deal It also makes a limited adjustments to taxes Walz s proposed reduction of the overall state sales tax rate and the creation of a new tax on services like accounting and legal advice did not make it to the final deal Minnesota s paid family and medicinal leave activity created by DFLers in and set to begin in remains in place Though Republicans got DFLers to agree to a small reduction in the payroll tax that will fund the venture A plan to sunset unemployment insurance for hourly school workers another DFL-created benefit from likely will go away as the Senate and House work on their pre K- mentoring budgets Hortman revealed Proposed cuts to state aid for private schools are also off the table something Republicans yearned There will be a small increase to the sales tax on cannabis The deal also calls for the repeal of a information center electricity tax exemption though there will be an exemption for research and advancement for those companies as well A proposed first-in-the-nation social media tax appears not to have made it into the deal Lawmakers expected to work through weekend Multiple questions about the form cuts will take are still in the air Lawmakers are expected to work through the weekend to craft final budget bills that will conform to the overall targets The final day to pass any bills is Monday and if they don t finish their work by then they ll have to return for a special session to enact a two-year budget by the end of the fiscal year on June If they don t pass a budget the state leadership will shut down on July interrupting numerous services DFL and Republican leaders expect that if they do return for a special session it ll be a short one that ll likely happen soon after the regular session closes Related Articles Gov Walz legislative leaders reach budget deal With no budget deal yet special session increasingly likely at Capitol MN moves to strengthen DWI laws after fatal St Louis Park crash With one week left what s happening with the MN budget at the Legislature Joe Soucheray No other governor has tried to pull off this pathetic budget stunt