The problem with energy

The state legislature is said to be working through the holiday weekend to reach an agreement on the next $66 billion two-year budget. The St. Paul Pioneer Press (PP) reported last evening:

Seeking budget deal by end of May, MN lawmakers work Memorial Day weekend:

Leaders hope they can wrap up negotiations between the House and the DFL-led Senate by early next week.

Several bills have hit snags, most notably taxes, naturally, and the massive human services bill. The PP reports on efforts to break the backlog:

There’s been progress on a handful of bills, but as of Friday evening, there was no public information on final deals for taxes or the biggest parts of state spending. 

One of the few exceptions includes, puzzlingly, the energy budget bill. The version passed by the House was a bare-bones spending bill, the version passed by the Senate included a few more spending items and some modest, mostly helpful policy items. The PP reports:

While there had been some trouble with energy and K-12 education, most of the budget deals were approaching completion.

House leadership sent Reps. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, and Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, to help mediate. As of Friday, it was unclear if they were any closer to a deal.

Session Daily had reported Thursday evening, quoting the House DFL leader Melissa Hortman:

Legislative leaders took the agreement away from the energy working group, Hortman said, but then gave it back and legislative leaders have a fallback budget for it. They also sent in legislators to mediate the transportation working group.

Take your time, no hurry.