(Saint Paul, Minnesota) This year’s legislative session has a deadline for Monday, May 18th, but the people of Minnesota, and even the legislators themselves, have been kept in the dark as negotiations are still ensuing.
Senator Majority Leader Tom Bakk, Speaker of the House Kurt Daudt, and Governor Mark Dayton have to reach a deal on the state budget that can pass the Senate and the House by Monday. The leaders agreed Tuesday to put all negotiations under a “cone of silence” and it appears that this is being taken as far as keeping even their fellow legislators in the dark.
Representative Paul Thissen and Senator David Hann have been asking nearly ever floor session for updates from leadership on what concessions have been made and how the negotiations are going. All responses from leadership have been that the negotiations are “on going” and “not yet publicly available.”
Last night leaders left The Governor’s residence with no comment for the press on negotiations.
Follow Alpha News on facebook and twitter for continuous updates as we track the negotiations as this session does, or does not come to a close. @JuliaErynn and @AlphaNewsMN