While most of the legislators, lobbyists and reporters that I talk to at the Capitol speculate that it will take a special session to pass a budget, House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher today said lawmakers could wrap it up by the May 18 constitutional deadline.
“I think we can make it,” Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, said in remarks at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute.
I worked at the legislature during the last budget session. All spring long, everyone thought a special session was inevitable. In the last few days of the session, an on-time ending seemed impossible. But then it happened and for the first time in I don’t even know how many budget sessions, the legislature adjourned on time. In the aftermath, Speaker Kelliher got a lot of the credit from both Poggemiller and Pawlenty. Same thing happened after the 2008 session ended on time - Kelliher was lauded for managing to wrap things up on time.
This time, the Speaker has a much tougher task. The size of this deficit is catastrophic. Once again, it seems absurd to think that the DFL legislature and T-Paw will be able to come to an agreement by mid-May. But if - and its an enormous if - Kelliher gets the hat trick (ends three sessions in a row on time), I think she’ll be in a great position to run for Governor. Talk about a real record of compromise and getting things done.
I suppose everyone would prefer ending on time in a vacuum, but what worries me is that Pawlenty has always been willing to go to a special session and even a shutdown if need be in order to get what he wants. The DFL legislative leaders haven’t always had the stomach for this. In 2003, Hottinger wasn’t willing to risk it and caved in to Pawlenty, giving “We couldn’t let a shutdown occur” as his reason. In 2005, Dean Johnson was willing to go there, and a compromise was worked out that stopped TPaw from kicking 40,000 people off of MnCare. In 2007, Kelliher and Pogemiller took a shutdown - and even a special session - off the table as an option on opening day. Result: Pawlenty got everything he wanted.
I wish these budget fights didn’t always have to come down to a game of chicken, but as long as they do, telegraphing publicly when you’re gonna jump off the tracks just seems really self-defeating.