Done Deal: Rep. Kieffer Says She’s ‘Relieved’ Shutdown Will End Soon

Minnesota’s legislators—and thousands of state workers—will soon be heading back to work.

Gov. Mark Dayton and state Republican leaders Thursday afternoon agreed on a preliminary budget and took the first steps toward ending the government shutdown.

“It’s a good compromise, so I’m excited about it,” Woodbury Republican Rep. Andrea Kieffer said.

During a three-hour meeting in the governor’s office, the parties agreed to a June 30 GOP budget proposal that would not raise taxes, but would borrow money to balance the budget. The deal will raise $1.4 billion by issuing state bonds against future tobacco revenue ($700 million) and shifting K12 education aid from 70/30 to 60/40 ($700 million).

In a tense meeting with reporters at the Capitol following the meeting, Dayton said he expects to call a special session for legislators and to pass a budget “very soon. Within days.”

Kieffer said the language of the legislation will be worked out over the weekend and lawmakers could be back at the Capitol for a special session as soon as Monday.

“Let’s just try to get this done as quickly as possible,” she said. “I’m very happy to hear that the governor has taken a step toward a resolution to get the state back to work.”

Kieffer said there is a little more spending in the budget proposal than she had hoped for, but added that there are solid reforms included as well.

“I plan to support it,” she said. “I don’t want this to keep this shutdown going.”

Sen. Ted Lillie, a Republican who represents Woodbury, said plenty of work still lies ahead as legislative leaders and the governor hammer out the finer points of the budget.

“I’m hopeful that we can work though the details and get the people of Minnesota back to work,” Lillie said.

Still, the mood today at the Capitol wasn’t jubilant, he said. “It’s hard to be excited and it’s hard not to be excited.”

“There are parts of it neither side will be happy with,” Lillie said.

It will be good to get transportation projects up and running again, and licensing issues sorted out, Lillie said. “And people can buy beer again.”

Dayton said he expects he and Republican leadership will work late into the night and through the weekend.

“This is an agreement that is difficult for both sides,” said Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, R-Buffalo. “There’s been some good discussions and some coming together on agreements for reforms.”

House Speaker Kurt Zellers (R-Maple Grove) agreed reaching a deal—as well as the shutdown—has been difficult.

“We are in an imperfect situation,” Zellers said. But in the end, “we’re focused on getting the lights back on and getting the government up and running again.”

Despite the agreement, Dayton reiterated his disappointment with the deal he announced Thursday morning.

“I’m disappointed I wasn’t able to persuade a legislative majority of the wisdom of my approach to raise taxes on the wealthiest Minnesotans,” Dayton said. “In the absence of that, however, this is an agreement today.”

Said Zellers: “Today was about making a deal that we’re disappointed in, but that’s done. None of us got exactly what we wanted. But we have a deal that will be done, a budget that will be balanced and a state that will be back to work.”

As part of the agreement, Republicans agreed to .

Koch said she expected the budget to pass the special session.

“We’re working with our caucus. We need to hammer out final details in these bills but we’re confident,” Koch said. “We’re focused solely on making sure these bills are processed as quickly as possible.”

Lillie said the timeframe for a special session is still undecided, though he anticipates it will happen early next week.