If 2105 Goes Well, Minnesota Lawmakers May Skip 2016 Session

ST. PAUL (AP) — Top Minnesota lawmakers have had early discussions about cramming more work into the next five months so they could skip a 2016 session amid a construction-ravaged Capitol.

Senate Minority Leader David Hann raised the prospect Tuesday, and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk hasn't ruled it out. Bakk acknowledged having preliminary talks with House Speaker Kurt Daudt about that option.

The challenge would be to fit next year's tasks into a 2015 session already brimming with work on the state budget and a large-scale transportation plan. In election-year sessions, lawmakers usually pass a borrowing bill for publicly financed construction projects.

Minnesota's Capitol is currently undergoing a massive renovation that has two-thirds of the space walled off. The Senate would have to meet in a temporary chamber in a 2016 session.