Budget talks stall in Minnesota over health care for undocumented residents and school worker benefits
Budget talks between legislative leaders and the governor continued on Monday at the State Capitol.
There are two weeks left in the session, and the biggest priority is reaching a balanced budget deal.
Legislative leaders and Governor Tim Walz met all weekend and have not come to any agreement. Some key roadblocks are preventing a deal from coming together.
The first is allowing undocumented residents to be on MinnesotaCare, or state health insurance. So far this year, 20,000 undocumented residents have signed up, and there has been a total of $4 million in paid claims, almost $1 million more than projected.
Republicans want to eliminate this benefit. The DFL wants to keep it.
Another roadblock is unemployment insurance for seasonal school workers. The cost of that was $45 million in 2023 and $57 million in 2024.
Republicans want to phase out the benefit, while the DFL wants to keep it.
One optimistic legislative leader aligned the budget deal with the timing of the papal conclave in Rome, which begins May 7.
"If we play our cards right, we can have a budget deal before the conclave starts, but woe unto the Minnesota legislature if we have a new Pope before we have budget targets," Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman said.
Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth also expressed optimism.
The legislative session ends May 19. No agreement by that date will mean a special session to avert a government shutdown.
