ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - After almost eight hours of private negotiation sessions in one day among Minnesota lawmakers, they’re keeping quiet about what they’ve accomplished.
And that typically can be taken as a good sign.
For months, leading Democrats and Republicans have been sparring in public over transportation, taxes and health care, where they have enormous differences. Tuesday started with strong words but ended with mostly silence as they agreed not to upend fragile talks by sharing details of their private discussions.
Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and the split-power Legislature have until Monday to come up with a new two-year state budget and decide the fate of a nearly $1.9 billion surplus. If they don’t it would push them into a special session and create a risk of a government shutdown.
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