I'm Following Along at Home (Like Everybody Else). From what I can gather, there have been a few speed bumps as the various legislative chairs and representatives of the Governor's office attempt to put together their bills by 10 PM this evening. While I don't believe 10 PM is a hard and fast deadline, it is the Governor's hope that work will be completed on all the appropriations bill by that time and that the bills could go to the Revisor's of Statutes office tomorrow for formal drafting. This would allow him to call a special session on Monday at which these bills could be passed.

At this juncture, it appears there will be multiple bills: the tax bill and appropriations bills from each of the remaining appropriations divisions (all but Agriculture). The StarTribune reported that the negotiations on the state departments bill broke down this afternoon, as Senate Chair Mike Parry (R-Waseca) became frustrated over the administration's reluctance to agree to include a number of policy provisions, viewed by the Senator as reforms, in the final bill.

As I pointed out yesterday, there are a number of potential stumbling blocks that will likely slow down, but not derail, the final negotiations. One has to remember that the bulk of the negotiations between the Governor and legislative leadership has dealt with the overall budget framework in terms of the aggregate spending level for state government and the level of revenue and the manner by which it will be raised. There was little, if any, discussion of particular reform provisions passed by the Legislature since the delivery of the veto messages outlining the Governor's objections to these provisions.

So, on we go.

StarTribune link on state government bill: http://www.startribune.com/politics/blogs/125662488.html

Everyone is "Disappointed." That seems to be the gist of most of the comments coming from both the Governor and legislative leadership. I've always thought a good compromise was when everyone wasn't happy that they didn't get everything they wanted, but were happy with what they got. It seems to be the converse here, as everyone is relieved the shutdown is over and agreement has been reached, but disappointed content of the compromise. Should make for an interesting 2012 if nothing else.