The*Empress
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Why are they shutting down government in Minnesota?
I wish Magastu or somebody can explain this...
No more Minnesota?
ST. PAUL (AP) — The first day of the historic partial shutdown of Minnesota state government began Friday, and one legislative leader said he hoped it would end then, too.
MnDOT employee John Bray walks through the barricade at a wayside rest area, one of several closed because of a government shutdown.
The Star Tribune via AP
''We need to fix it today,'' said Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson on Friday morning. ''As far as I'm concerned, a one-day partial government shutdown is enough.''
Johnson, a DFLer, said he hoped the Legislature would pass a 10-day budget resolution that would put government workers back on the job and give negotiators time to hammer out a permanent deal. He said the short-term measure would come up in the Senate later Friday.
House Speaker Steve Sviggum, a Republican, said he's anxious to get back to the table as well.
''Everyday we have more state employees who will be losing pay and losing their benefits,'' he said. ''That is a very significant pressure upon us.''
Johnson said he wanted to resume discussions with Sviggum and Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty as soon as possible to end the first shutdown of state government in Minnesota history.
A short partial shutdown will be little more than inconvenient for most Minnesotans -- with the exception of state workers -- but the symbolic failure could haunt the politicians involved in budget talks that broke down hours before the midnight Thursday deadline.
"I'd like to say I'm sorry to the people of Minnesota," said Rep. Rod Hamilton, R-Mountain Lake. "This is disgusting."
A budget deal to avert the shutdown seemed within reach late Thursday, until talks broke down in a flurry of anger. It was a depressingly familiar scene for many lawmakers frustrated by the partisan gridlock that's gripped the Capitol in recent years.
What's closed or put on hold:
All but eight highway rest areas.
New driver's licenses.
Traffic message boards.
Payments to hospitals, clinics, health plans and dentists.
Local grants to public health agencies.
New applications for MinnesotaCare in most counties.
That gridlock now has its most potent symbol in the partial shutdown, which will result in layoff notices for more than 9,000 state workers, close dozens of highway rest stops, halt new drivers licenses from being issued, and cause other consequences that are still being sorted out.
Some services will continue. Lawmakers did find last-minute agreement Thursday on a bill that kept state parks open, which Gov. Tim Pawlenty promptly signed. Other functions had previously been funded, including most public safety programs, college campuses and tax collections.
Additionally, a judge has ordered the state to continue delivering services critical to the health and safety of Minnesotans, including the State Patrol.
Still, there was plenty of finger-pointing Thursday night after the Senate unexpectedly adjourned not long after passing a bill that would have kept government open by maintaining current funding levels. Pawlenty and House Republicans said that approach was unacceptable, the House voted it down, and government shut down.
Pawlenty lashed out at Senate Democrats, charging that a government shutdown was their strategy all along, in order to make him look bad.
"I am stunned by the naked cynicism of the Democrat strategy," Pawlenty said. "When it came to crunch time, they left. When the services Minnesotans rely on to meet their needs and help them, when the jobs of the state employees were on the line, the Democrats turned and left tonight, when the people needed them the most."
Democrats said Republicans could have kept government open by approving the continuing resolution, leaving negotiators a little more time to reach a budget deal.
"Are the members of this House of Representatives going to be the first legislators in the history of the state to let government shut down?" asked House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, DFL-St. Paul. "The answer should be no."
What happens next is unclear. Pawlenty said Thursday night that all the offers he had made to Democrats, including a charge on a pack of cigarettes that would have comprised a large chunk of new state revenue, are now off the table. Negotiations will have to start at the beginning, he said.
House Speaker Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon, said he expected the House would adjourn for the weekend on Friday, with only leaders staying in St. Paul to continue negotiations.
That would leave lawmakers headed home to their districts — and, possibly, to face angry constituents. Rep. Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said she would probably skip a Friday night parade in which she was scheduled to participate.
"I don't want to have eggs and tomatoes thrown at me," Hortman said, adding that she wouldn't feel right riding in a parade. "We should be here working."
I wish Magastu or somebody can explain this...
No more Minnesota?
ST. PAUL (AP) — The first day of the historic partial shutdown of Minnesota state government began Friday, and one legislative leader said he hoped it would end then, too.
MnDOT employee John Bray walks through the barricade at a wayside rest area, one of several closed because of a government shutdown.
The Star Tribune via AP
''We need to fix it today,'' said Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson on Friday morning. ''As far as I'm concerned, a one-day partial government shutdown is enough.''
Johnson, a DFLer, said he hoped the Legislature would pass a 10-day budget resolution that would put government workers back on the job and give negotiators time to hammer out a permanent deal. He said the short-term measure would come up in the Senate later Friday.
House Speaker Steve Sviggum, a Republican, said he's anxious to get back to the table as well.
''Everyday we have more state employees who will be losing pay and losing their benefits,'' he said. ''That is a very significant pressure upon us.''
Johnson said he wanted to resume discussions with Sviggum and Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty as soon as possible to end the first shutdown of state government in Minnesota history.
A short partial shutdown will be little more than inconvenient for most Minnesotans -- with the exception of state workers -- but the symbolic failure could haunt the politicians involved in budget talks that broke down hours before the midnight Thursday deadline.
"I'd like to say I'm sorry to the people of Minnesota," said Rep. Rod Hamilton, R-Mountain Lake. "This is disgusting."
A budget deal to avert the shutdown seemed within reach late Thursday, until talks broke down in a flurry of anger. It was a depressingly familiar scene for many lawmakers frustrated by the partisan gridlock that's gripped the Capitol in recent years.
What's closed or put on hold:
All but eight highway rest areas.
New driver's licenses.
Traffic message boards.
Payments to hospitals, clinics, health plans and dentists.
Local grants to public health agencies.
New applications for MinnesotaCare in most counties.
That gridlock now has its most potent symbol in the partial shutdown, which will result in layoff notices for more than 9,000 state workers, close dozens of highway rest stops, halt new drivers licenses from being issued, and cause other consequences that are still being sorted out.
Some services will continue. Lawmakers did find last-minute agreement Thursday on a bill that kept state parks open, which Gov. Tim Pawlenty promptly signed. Other functions had previously been funded, including most public safety programs, college campuses and tax collections.
Additionally, a judge has ordered the state to continue delivering services critical to the health and safety of Minnesotans, including the State Patrol.
Still, there was plenty of finger-pointing Thursday night after the Senate unexpectedly adjourned not long after passing a bill that would have kept government open by maintaining current funding levels. Pawlenty and House Republicans said that approach was unacceptable, the House voted it down, and government shut down.
Pawlenty lashed out at Senate Democrats, charging that a government shutdown was their strategy all along, in order to make him look bad.
"I am stunned by the naked cynicism of the Democrat strategy," Pawlenty said. "When it came to crunch time, they left. When the services Minnesotans rely on to meet their needs and help them, when the jobs of the state employees were on the line, the Democrats turned and left tonight, when the people needed them the most."
Democrats said Republicans could have kept government open by approving the continuing resolution, leaving negotiators a little more time to reach a budget deal.
"Are the members of this House of Representatives going to be the first legislators in the history of the state to let government shut down?" asked House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, DFL-St. Paul. "The answer should be no."
What happens next is unclear. Pawlenty said Thursday night that all the offers he had made to Democrats, including a charge on a pack of cigarettes that would have comprised a large chunk of new state revenue, are now off the table. Negotiations will have to start at the beginning, he said.
House Speaker Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon, said he expected the House would adjourn for the weekend on Friday, with only leaders staying in St. Paul to continue negotiations.
That would leave lawmakers headed home to their districts — and, possibly, to face angry constituents. Rep. Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said she would probably skip a Friday night parade in which she was scheduled to participate.
"I don't want to have eggs and tomatoes thrown at me," Hortman said, adding that she wouldn't feel right riding in a parade. "We should be here working."
