Lawmakers wrap up session in a blur of bills, questions

ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Legislature wrapped up its work at midnight Sunday with the familiar last-minute flurry of votes and political machinations but surrounded by question marks, as Gov. Mark Dayton threatened to veto major tax and spending bills.

The ramifications of the latest round of gridlock at the Capitol could be huge, as the failure to enact a bill syncing Minnesota's tax code with sweeping federal changes would create a massively complex tax filing season next year and hit hundreds of thousands of Minnesota families and some businesses with tax increases. Dayton's veto of a budget bill would prevent new funding for schools to improve their security and efforts to boost oversight of senior care facilities — all deemed top priorities throughout the spring.

In the final 30 minutes before the deadline, the House and Senate held rapid-fire votes with little discussion, including on a bill that would authorize $1.5 billion in public works projects and another shoring up public worker pension accounts. Lawmakers also repassed a bill with money funding opioid abuse prevention and treatment, with GOP senators hastily explaining that it made several corrections to provisions previously included in the broader budget package.

"This is no way to run a circus. This is ridiculous," Democratic Sen. Tony Lourey said late Sunday night.

In the end, Dayton and Republicans who control the Legislature deadlocked more over approach than subjects. Dayton insisted that many of those priorities travel in separate bills, while the Legislature stuffed a nearly 1,000-page budget bill full of both controversial policies and some of Dayton's spending priorities. Their tax bill, with modest income tax rate cuts for many Minnesotans, was coupled with one of Dayton's top requests: additional public school funding for districts suffering budget shortfalls.

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