Politics & Government

Shutdown: Intractable Impasse

No sign of compromise or word of where negotiations go from here.

The state of Minnesota has officially shut down.

After weeks of intense negotiations, capped by closed-door sessions through Thursday’s waning minutes, Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican lawmakers failed to agree on an operating budget for the coming biennium. 

“I deeply regret that after two days of intense negotiations we have failed to reach an agreement,” Dayton said during a 10:30 p.m. press conference in his office.

Dayton continued: “I offered a plan to raise the taxes of only those Minnesotans who make more than $1 million per year. That is less than 0.3 percent of the state population. Despite many hours of negotiations, the Republican caucus remains adamantly opposed to new taxes.”

Earlier in the week, Gov. Dayton said a deal would have to be done by Wednesday in order to draft and pass the necessary legislation. But Thursday, the governor continued meeting with GOP leaders on-and-off trying to put an agreement in place. 

At around 10 p.m. Thursday evening Gov. Dayton rejected a 2-page temporary funding deal from the GOP leadership that would keep the Minnesota government operational for an additional 10 days.

"There are a lot of people on the steps of the Capitol right now asking us to not shut down the government. This document is their answer,” Koch said referring to the lights-on bill. 

When asked his response to the 10-day temporary funding bill, Gov. Dayton’s answer was frank and clear: “I think it’s a publicity stunt,” he replied.

Joel Schwartz, who lives in the Whittier Park neighborhood of Uptown, came to the south capitol steps Thursday evening after finishing up at his job as a business architect for the Human Services Department. But Schwartz received a layoff notice, and he will not be working on Friday, or any day until the state shutdown is resolved.

"I'm going to start working through my savings," he said. "It's unfortunate since I was saving it for my son's college."

Schwartz's wife, Trish Clarke, and her sister, Kathleen, came to support him Thursday evening.

Schwartz said the Republicans' refusal to compromise was "really an attack on working people."

"To have raising taxes off the table is absurd," he said. "It means you assume that the level of taxes we have right now is the maximum we could have for any economic condition."

The day’s events smacked of the political posturing that has become characteristic of these budget negotiations. 

There appeared a glimmer of hope early Thursday evening. But around 8:30 p.m., Rep. Tony Cornish (R-District 24B) reported to his seat in the Minnesota House saying he had received a message from the GOP leadership to do so. “There is always time for a deal,” Cornish told reporters as he walked into the House. 

The gesture was called “grandstanding,” “theatrics” and “mock legislature” by Democratic minority leaders Sen. Tom Bakk and Rep. Paul Thissen. 

Bakk took the podium at 9 p.m. and pleaded with his GOP counterparts to return to the negotiating table instead of sitting in the legislature. “We are running out of time,” he said plainly. 

Bakk’s statement proved prophetic. Fiscal year 2012-13 began at 12:01 a.m. today and, without a budget in place, the State of Minnesota was unable to fund its myriad services or pay salaries to its almost 33,000 state employees—22,000 of which left their offices today without a job to return to. 

Owing to a June 29 ruling by Ramsey County District Court Judge Kathleen Gearin, state correctional facilities, nursing homes, public safety, and payment of medical services are all considered “core functions” of government and will continue operating. Everything else is no longer functional until a budget deal is reached. 

The heart of the impasse has always been the $1.8 billion difference between Gov. Dayton’s operating budget and the budget proposed by the GOP. Central to the issue is the method for closing Minnesota’s $5 billion budget gap. 

While both Gov. Dayton and the GOP leadership have committed themselves to working further toward an agreement, no date has been set for the next round of negotiations.


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