Differences Remain on Need for Special Session

Governor Mark Dayton and legislative Democrats emerged from a meeting with Republican leaders on Friday, January 29, to announce that no agreement has been reached on a 2016 special legislative session to address issues relating to economic disparities for minorities, the extension of unemployment benefits for workers on the Iron Range, and the adoption of Real I.D. In a press conference at the Veterans Building in St. Paul, the governor called the meeting “inconclusive,” and he told reporters that he was not ready to concede attempts to secure an agreement for a special session.

In separate comments to reporters immediately following the meeting, Speaker of the House Kurt Daudt said he continues to believe a special session is not necessary. Senator Jeff Hayden, DFL-Minneapolis, stressed the importance of addressing the issue of economic disparities. “If we don’t pass some relief or something that deals with these horrific racial disparities, then we’ve, we certainly have failed Minnesotans,” he said.

Referring to the extension of unemployment benefits for workers on the Iron Range, Senator David Tomassoni, DFL, Chisholm, said that the area is experiencing unprecedented layoffs. “The sooner we do this,” Tomassoni said, “the quicker we get the relief to the people.”

Working group language for an agreement on the extension of unemployment benefits was close, the governor said. He also told reporters that there was no timeline for reaching an agreement about a special session.