By Michelle Griffith, Minnesota Reformer
Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders have a signed agreement for a special legislative session on Monday, with the goal of passing 14 already agreed-upon bills in one day, according to a document obtained by the Reformer.
The long-awaited special session comes after weeks of behind-closed-doors meetings between Walz, House Speaker Lisa Demuth, House DFL caucus leader Melissa Hortman and Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy after the Legislature adjourned on May 19 without passing a biennium budget. The agreement suggests that leaders have whipped enough votes from their caucuses to pass the bills.
“This bipartisan budget agreement makes thoughtful reductions in state spending while keeping us on track to make Minnesota the best state in the country to raise a child,” Walz said in a statement. “It is the result of hundreds of hours of good-faith, bipartisan debate on the best ways to improve the health, safety and well-being of Minnesotans.”
Lawmakers must pass a two-year budget by June 30 otherwise Minnesota will go into a partial shutdown.
The agreement states that lawmakers will vote on just 14 bills, which are mostly budget bills. However, lawmakers will also pass a standalone bill to strip MinnesotaCare from undocumented adults, as well a bill specifically about financial inducements for the development of data centers, though the agreement doesn’t elaborate on the details.
The special session agreement was signed by all caucus leaders, including Senate GOP Minority Leader Mark Johnson, who refrained from signing a previously announced budget agreement last month. Johnson said in May that the agreement fell short of what was required for a bipartisan budget. The Senate Republican leader was not part of the latest budget negotiations.
“While Senate Republicans are not party to the overall budget agreement, we are glad to have found agreements to preserve jobs and invest in core infrastructure in our communities,” Johnson said in a statement.
Lawmakers during the special session will not be able to make amendments to the 14 bills on the floor, except as previously agreed to.
But the agreement suggests legislators may not have time to fully read the bills, some of which will be hundreds of pages long.
“The finalized bills will be conveyed to the House and Senate on Monday, June 9, 2025, and must be voted upon or passed by both bodies before 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 10, 2025,” the agreement states.
The bills include a tax and local aid bill and a capital investment bill — two pieces of legislation that were on shaky ground throughout the weeks-long budget negotiations.
No other bills other than those listed in the agreement will be considered.
The one-day mandate is a tall order for lawmakers, many of whom are used to making long floor speeches.
Hortman late last month said House Democrats will want to make speeches on the floor about the bill to strip MinnesotaCare from undocumented adults to justify their no votes, though she said she’s confident the work can be done in one day.
Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com.
