Gov. Mark Dayton and leading Republican lawmakers remain more than $1 billion apart on how to balance the red-ink-stained state budget as they head into the final four weeks of the regular legislative session.
At the start of an eight-city tour Monday, House Speaker Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, said the GOP message is that Minnesotans have two choices: They can support the Republican budget plan to "live within our means" or back Dayton's proposal to increase income taxes on high earners.
The Republican-controlled Legislature has passed bills that would erase a $5 billion budget shortfall through spending cuts alone.
"We think the people of Minnesota are with us on that," Zellers said before boarding a plane at the St. Paul Downtown Airport.
But Dayton said the GOP budget plan is based on "very questionable assumptions." His top tax and budget analysts have said the Republican bills are more than $1 billion out of balance.
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"I'm still waiting for them to propose an honest, balanced budget," the Democratic governor said on Minnesota Public Radio's "Midmorning with Kerri Miller."
The GOP leaders contend, however, that the administration's number crunchers fail to acknowledge how much money the legislators' proposed reforms would save. "Our numbers are solid," Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch said.
When lawmakers return today from a weeklong break, their main job will be to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of nine remaining
tax and spending bills.
Dayton said he wouldn't negotiate with the Republicans until the two houses agree on their budget bills.
Zellers said lawmakers passed their tax and finance bills early this year to provide extra time for the new governor and new legislative leaders to negotiate a budget agreement.
The House-Senate conference committees will invite the appropriate Dayton department heads to negotiate with them, Koch said. "They will always have a seat at the table."
Democratic-Farmer-Labor legislative leaders said Republicans have not yet explained what services they would cut to get the cost savings they claim are in their bills.
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Although GOP leaders contend they aren't raising state taxes, House Minority Leader Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, said their bills are filled with "hidden taxes," including more than $1 billion in property taxes that will result from their proposed cuts in state aid to cities and counties.
Koch said GOP leaders are optimistic they can cut a budget deal with Dayton before the regular session ends on May 23.
If they don't get it done on time, the governor would have to call lawmakers back into special session to prevent a partial state government shutdown on July 1, when the current budget expires.
Dennis Lien contributed to this report.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
