Short Session, Smaller Surplus Await Lawmakers’ Return

ST. PAUL - Minnesota lawmakers are set to return to the Capitol, but they won't be there long.

Major renovations have shuttered much of the building, giving lawmakers just 10 weeks to hash out major deals on transportation, tax cuts and other spending proposals. The shortened session begins on Tuesday, and they'll have a smaller surplus than anticipated.

State budget officials revealed last month that a projected $1.2 billion balance had dwindled to about $900 million due to a slowing economy.

There's plenty of work to tackle beyond the big-ticket items. Lawmakers want to extend unemployment benefits for laid-off steelworkers and move to address a dispute over driver's licenses with the federal government that threatened to disrupt domestic flights.