On May 17, 2021, the Minnesota Legislature adjourned without passing a two-year state budget. Earlier this morning, Governor Walz, Speaker Hortman and Majority Leader Gazelka announced agreement on joint budget targets, a preliminary step that allows each budget area to begin the work of negotiating specific budget items. A special session to pass budget bills will be required to prevent a full or partial shutdown of state government on July 1st.
Following adjournment, Senator Nick Frentz (DFL- North Mankato) released the following statement:
“I was glad to see an agreement on the budget targets reached today. I think we should have been able to get this work done earlier, but I will now focus on completing the job in the weeks ahead. I was also very pleased to see in the agreement broad support for education funding for our schools, as well as tax relief for our businesses and working men and women provided through the PPP and unemployment insurance federal tax conformity provisions.” said Senator Frentz.
“There is other good news in that the Energy Conservation & Optimization (ECO) Act is now on its way to the governor’s desk. This has been several years in the making and I am proud to have worked to get this bill across the finish line. The ECO Act shows what we can accomplish when we work together, and the bill makes great strides around energy efficiency. I am hopeful that we can work together on the other outstanding budget and policy issues to create a budget that works for all Minnesotans across our state.”