House Speaker Kurt Daudt
(R-Crown)
Lawmakers are back at the State Capitol after Passover/Easter break and shots are already going back and forth between Republican leaders and Governor Mark Dayton. House Speaker Kurt Daudt takes issue with Dayton’s statement in Monday’s letter to top lawmakers that he’ll do final negotiations on the state budget after the House and Senate wrap up their bills. Daudt says, “We’re gonna do the negotiations in an open, transparent way during the conference committee process. My hope is the governor agrees to engage in that. If he doesn’t, it means that he wants smoky backroom deals with just a few people.” He says if the governor does not participate, they’ll set a deadline by which they’ll send him bills — so the House and Senate can’t be accused of not getting their work done on time.