Minnesota lawmakers must agree on a balanced two-year budget by May 20 or risk a special session. They kicked off the year with optimism, talking of a fresh start and plans to get things done early.
But the situation quickly got complicated, as disagreements over the size and priorities of that budget emerged. This week, a revised economic forecast showed that lawmakers still have a surplus to work with, but the size of the surplus slipped to about $1 billion, down from an estimated $1.5 billion in November.
• Guide: The 2019 legislative session
Meanwhile, a hearing on gun legislation drew a huge crowd and DFL Gov. Tim Walz has proposed a $1.27 billion list of public construction projects.
Overall, how's the session going? MPR News political editor Mike Mulcahy spoke with two MPR reporters about what's going on at the Capitol.
Guests:
• Briana Bierschbach, MPR News political reporter
• Tim Pugmire, MPR News political reporter
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.