On Monday, May 22nd at 11:15pm, just 45 minutes before their constitutionally mandated end of the 2017 legislative session, legislators and Governor Dayton announced that they had come to a deal regarding how to spend the $46 billion budget over the next 2 years. Areas of focus include tax cuts, transportation, health and human services, and public schools.
The budget has been an area of controversy and concern throughout the session, similar to past sessions. Though a deal was reached, time is still needed to complete the details. A special session will allow legislators until Wednesday, May 24th to approve a $990 million state building measure, an $18 billion school budget, and $14 billion for health and human services programs.
Only an outline of their deal has been released regarding exactly how the money will be spent.