budget

The Minnesota Legislature has sent a full set of budget bills to Gov. Mark Dayton. The Senate finished passing its last three budget bills Thursday afternoon when it approved funding packages for environmental programs and parks; highways, roads and transit programs; and higher education.

The Minnesota Senate has passed a funding bill for state agencies and programs that would freeze state employee pay and reduce the size of the state workforce. The Senate voted 37-29 on Wednesday for the $600 million state government bill.

A new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll says a majority of Minnesotans want to solve the state's budget problems with a mix of tax hikes and decreased spending. Results of the poll published Sunday show 63 percent of respondents favor a blend of higher taxes and decreases in services to fix the state's $5 billion projected deficit.

Gov. Mark Dayton says he expects budget talks with top Republican lawmakers to pick up in the coming days. The Democratic governor said Tuesday that his breakfast meeting with GOP legislative leaders was "constructive."

Top legislative Republicans stopped in St. Cloud today (Monday). They were on a statewide tour pushing their plan to eliminate the $5 billion budget gap without raising taxes. Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch says Republicans are reigning-in out of control spending.

Governor Mark Dayton spent some time on Thursday afternoon talking with WJON news about a variety of issues. The State Legislature is on Passover/Easter break this week. He says they'll have a lot of work to get done with they return to the Capitol on Tuesday, but he says it's been a good session so far.

The St. Cloud Area School District slashed over $3 million from next year's budget. The cuts made during Wednesday night's meeting will result in the elimination of 38 full-time licensed staff positions. Fourteen of those will be teachers who plan to retire and will not be replaced.

The Minnesota House has approved deep cuts to projected health and welfare spending after a long debate. The proposal approved early Thursday would cut projected health and social service spending by $1.7 billion over the next two years.

A Republican plan to overhaul Minnesota's health care programs and cut into services for the poor and disabled has cleared the Senate. The bill passed on a 37-26 vote Wednesday.

The Minnesota House has passed a public school funding bill that increases per-pupil payments to schools while making major changes to the way that they operate.