Taxes on agenda as legislators wrap up session

State lawmakers will begin their final work on tax and spending measures this week when they return to the Capitol following a spring break.

House and Senate negotiators will need to resolve the differences between two supplemental budget bills. The House version is $323 million. The Senate is at $210 million. Both bodies passed bills to reduce taxes by about $100 million, but there are differences.

House Republicans supported the bill, and they now have two spots on the conference committee. GOP House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt of Crown said he thinks that's appropriate.

"While we weren't part of creating the problem -- and what I mean by that is we didn't help them increase the taxes last year -- we certainly want to be part of the solution, which is giving it back this year," he said.

Lawmakers passed a separate bill earlier this session that reduced taxes by $443 million . It lined up state and federal deductions and eliminated three business sales taxes passed in the 2013 session.

The session must end no later than May 19. But DFL Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk of Cook said he still thinks it could wrap up early.

"If we could come back and have a couple weeks, that would be a pretty short session. I mean anything under 10 weeks would be pretty short. I don't know if that can be done. That's totally in the hands of the Republicans, because the bonding bill is the bill that's going to be the hardest to close up because it has to have bipartisan support," he said.

The Senate will also vote soon on the package of workplace protections known as the Women's Economic Security Act. The House passed the measure earlier this month.