House and Senate Aim for Swift Approval of Vetoed Funds

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) _ Minnesota's Legislature is moving quickly to restore its budget.
Lawmakers were set to vote later Tuesday on the House and Senate's nearly $130 million operating budget. It comes just two days into the new legislative session.

Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed those funds while signing the rest of a $46 billion state budget in May, prompting a legal battle that lasted months. The Minnesota Supreme Court eventually declined to overturn Dayton's veto, forcing both chambers to run on reserve funds.

Restoring the full budget will finally end the drama between Dayton and the Republican-controlled Legislature.

But Democrats are upset at the parliamentary procedure Republicans used to bring the budget up for a final vote. That method prevents Democrats from trying to attach approval of new contracts for 33,000 state employees.