A few people have asked me whether the Legislature will finish up its work–including the passage of a comprehensive budget–before the constitutional deadline of May 18th. And I’m sure the same question has been keeping many of you up at night. Short answer: I doubt it. There’s little sign that the governor and the DFL-controlled Legislature are ready to begin the kind of serious negotiations that would bring a swift end to the session. On matters pertaining to health care, the two sides remain particularly far apart. Some of my colleagues are wondering whether this impasse will lead to another government shutdown, a possibility that could trigger a lot of time-consuming contingency planning. I remain optimistic that a deal will be reached my mid-June, but I also thought we would have our second senator sworn in by Easter.
Remember to get your vacation request in for the first week of July in case there is a shutdown so you can get paid.