In last week’s legislative update, we made the analogy of a running race to describe the sluggish pace of legislative negotiations. This week, we turn to the sea. Imagine the state as a ship on a voyage to a successful conclusion and passage of a two-year state budget. To arrive at our destination, state leaders must navigate storms, rough waters, rocks, bad maps, sea monsters, and pirates. Once they overcome one problem, more trouble is just over the horizon.
The most ordinary “trouble” confronting the Legislature and Governor is the normal partisan differences that come with divided government. In a normal year, the usual back-and-forth may produce a moderate set of “wins” for each side, while the more controversial or extreme wants fall to the wayside, becoming the object of talking points and electoral politics.
As for the obstacles that make this an abnormal year, there are many — starting with the limitations of working remotely during a pandemic. Many of the helpful face-to-face conversations on items large and small are not able to happen, and even when they do, the remote nature of them changes the color and tenor of every discussion.
The next major difficulty getting in the way of finishing the state budget is the lack of guidance from the federal government on how to spend the billions of American Rescue Plan dollars that are coming to the state. Naturally, such a large windfall will have an impact on how the state resolves the budget for the next two years. When asked about potential plans for spending the federal money, Walz administration officials and lawmakers generally deflect the questions based on the lack of guidance. Even if guidance comes soon, it will be too late to resolve these questions by the May 17 deadline to adjourn the legislative session. This could mean that Senate Republicans hold off on other parts of the budget into the summer in hopes of being able to negotiate a comprehensive spending package rather than let Gov. Walz spend the money through executive action, which he likely could if the Legislature is not in session.
Finally, there are issues of public safety and racial equity that many on the DFL side are pressing to deal with before working on the rest of the state budget. Not to be outdone for drawing lines in the sand, the Senate GOP has basically said there will be no environment finance bill unless the Walz administration ceases its work on implementing so-called “clean car rules” dealing with emissions.
All these obstacles point to significant difficulty in finishing the state budget by May 17. While it is not impossible for them to finish on tine – the Legislature can move fast when lawmakers want it to – it seems very unlikely. In that case, the next deadline is July 1 when the new budget would need to take effect. If the Legislature and Governor do not resolve the budget by then, state agencies and services will begin to shut down.
