Democrats are balking at a tentative budget deal reached by state lawmakers during a special session Tuesday and Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, said he would not “twist arms” to garner democrat’s votes, reports
MPR reports that 29 democrats voted against the environment bill and Bakk is unsure about the outcome of the next session.
Gov. Mark Dayton was forced to give up on funding universal pre-kindergarten, but got lawmakers to agree to give an additional $125 million to schools in the state, according to Minnesota Public Radio.
Still, that deal and others may be in jeopardy if the DFL can’t come to an agreement.
Dayton and legislative leaders hoped to host another special session on Friday, but many lawmakers are not available and wish to spend more time reading through bills, according to the Pioneer Press.
Bakk asked Dayton to meet with the Senate DFL to encourage a compromise, reports the Star Tribune.
“These resolutions to the bills I vetoed three weeks ago have been extremely difficult,” Dayton said to the Star Tribune, adding, “The sign of a true compromise is that no one is happy with it.”