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Capitol View®
Tim Pugmire

State lawmakers want disaster aid without special session

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Gov. Mark Dayton and the leaders of the Minnesota House and Senate agreed today that the date for a possible special session will be Sept. 9, but that was the only thing they firmed up during a private meeting.

After an hour behind closed doors, they still did not have an agreement on the special session agenda, beyond a bipartisan commitment to approve storm damage relief for 18 counties.  Lawmakers still disagree along party lines which if any new tax laws they should also try to rework.

In addition, DFL leaders are looking at other alternatives.

"We're still exploring, as we've been all along, whether there's a way to accomplish the disaster relief without a special session," said House Speaker Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis. "It's not clear that we can, but there may be some options we'd like to explore."

Neither Thissen nor Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, offered many specifics. But Bakk said they're looking at money appropriated for previous disasters.

"We're exploring whether some of that unexpended money could be somehow be transferred or loaned," Bakk said.

Senate Minority Leader David Hann, R-Eden Prairie, said he too wants to explore the option.

"There's always a cost to do a special session," Hann said. "You don't want to do one unless you need to, and so if there's an opportunity to do the disaster relief without a special session, obviously we would entertain doing that."

But if there is a special session, Hann and other Republicans are still pushing for the elimination of several tax measures that the DFL majority passed last May. They want to repeal new taxes on business equipment repairs, warehousing services and purchases of equipment by telecommunications providers. Dayton and the other DFL leaders will only agree to include a measure to exempt farm machinery from the business equipment repair tax.

Another private meeting is tentatively planned for next week.