Are you pleased with the outcome of the legislative session?
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"The Minnesota Legislature made its midnight deadline to pass a two-year $42 billion state budget, but only by rushing a vote on a jobs bill that most lawmakers had no time to read," writes MPR News reporter Tim Pugmire.
The House passed the bill with no debate, with Speaker Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, ignoring the objections of Democrats who wished to be heard. The House then adjourned the session a minute before the clock struck 12.
The hurried House vote followed a longer debate in the Senate, where members complained they were being asked to vote on amendments they hadn’t seen to a bill they hadn’t read.
The chaotic finish capped a long last week of closed-door negotiations that resulted in a deal between Daudt and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, on a budget that left Gov. Mark Dayton on the sidelines saying the two had ignored his top session priority, statewide universal pre-kindergarten for 4-year-olds.
Dayton said repeatedly that he would veto a school funding bill that didn’t include the pre-K funding, but the Legislature passed the bill anyway. When Dayton vetoes the bill, a special session will be required to pass a replacement.
Today's Question: Are you pleased with the outcome of the legislative session?
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