Down to the wire - and beyond: Special session called at midnight

UPDATED 11:10 a.m. Budget passed, House and Senate adjourned.

UPDATED 6:40 a.m., Monday, May 17 - The legislature went into special session at 12:01 a.m., with an agreement allegedly reached on a budget deal, and promises of a vote by sunrise. No vote yet, though the sun is up. Session Daily reports that the compromise includes:

• passage of legislation authorizing Pawlenty or the next governor to have the state opt in to an early expansion of Medicaid enrollment;
• $10 million in extra funding for General Assistance Medical Care;
• allowing a potential $408 million in enhanced Medicaid match funds to be used to bolster the state’s cash flow, if Congress appropriates the money; and
• no surcharges on health care providers.

Yesterday's session included farewells from retiring senators, including a surprise announcement from Senator Mee Moua. Details on the weekend marathon below, from The Uptake and Session Daily. The Uptake continues with live coverage from the House and Senate.

Pawlenty Calls Midnight Special Session To Be Done "By Breakfast"
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty announces that he is calling a special legislative session to begin at 12:01 AM. The session will only deal with the budget balancing bill he and the DFL have agreed to.

What Did MN GOP Compromise? Not Much.
House Minority Leader Kurt Zellers and Senate Minority Leader David Senjem are questioned about the negotiated agreement between Governor Pawlenty and the DFL to balance the budget in a pre-dawn special session.

DFL Leaders on Agreeing To Deal And Special Session
Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and House Majority Leader Tony Sertich talk about the midnight special session Governor Tim Pawlenty has agreed to call.

* * * * *

Click through to see videos below, and user browser "back" button to return to this page.

Size Matters At 4AM On A Sunday
Size matters when it comes to budget cuts. Representative Marty Seiffert complains about several hundred thousand of dollars of appropriations in the spending bill and called it irresponsible to be "spending money we don't have" . Tax Chair Representative Ann Lenczewski counters that Seiffert and other Republicans refused to vote for $300 Million in cuts to local government aid.
 

Sertich To Gov & GOP: What Else Can We Do?
Around 5 AM Sunday Minnesota House Majority Leader Tony Sertich urges Republican members to vote for the budget bill that contains "90 plus percent of what the Governor wants". The bill passed without Republican support and was vetoed this morning by Governor Pawlenty.

DFL To GOP: Vote For Your Own Plan 
Full video of DFL news conference: House Majority Leader Tony Sertich says the plan for early Medicare Assistance (MA) is essentially what the GOP proposed last year. Why won't they vote for it now?

"ObamaCare" "Ponzi" Says MN GOP
Full video of MN Republican news conference:House Minority Leader Kurt Zellers, Representative Jim Abeler and other Republicans respond to the DFL proposal that would get $7 federal for every $1 in MN tax dollars spent on Medicaid.

Is Policy Or Politics At Heart Of DFL-GOP Dispute?
Highlights of the DFL and MN GOP news conferences cut into a 3:25 video.

FROM SESSION DAILY and SESSION WEEKLY

Just click on any title to go to the report, and then use your computer's "back" button to return to this page.

Budget: The House passed a bill that would solve the state’s $3 billion budget deficit, but did so without a firm budget agreement between legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
 
Government: A bill to help local governments with cleanup costs from the spring floods awaits action by Gov.Tim Pawlenty.
 
Health: Republican and DFL leaders said they still have very different opinions on a proposal to enroll certain low-income, childless adults in the state’s Medicaid program, Medical Assistance.
 
Insurance: The House passed a resolution asking Congress to leave the business of regulating the insurance industry to the states.

Expected veto stamped on HHS bill by Lauren Radomski, Session Weekly • Gov. Tim Pawlenty and legislative leaders were expected to continue talks on the omnibus health and human services budget bill after the governor delivered an expected veto.

Definitions matter by Sue Hegarty, Session Weekly • Interpreting the constitutional will of the voters became a key issue in discussion of the omnibus environment, energy and natural resources policy and finance bill, which includes how to spend the outdoor heritage funds.

House K-12 omnibus bill fast-tracked by Kris Berggren, Session Weekly • Within four days, HF3833, the newest omnibus K-12 education bill, was introduced, approved by a committee and passed 86-47 by the House May 11.