The Walz administration has put state lawmakers on notice that the legislature might have to provide “bridge” funding for the SNAP food stamp program to the tune of 40-plus million dollars a month, if the federal government shutdown doesn’t end soon. Senate Republican Majority Leader Paul Gazelka says he’s open to it — with one key requirement: “Would we get reimbursed from the federal government if we step up and do things early? That’s what the governor told me he’s trying to find out and, if that is an assurance, then I’m open.”
If the federal government didn’t pay Minnesota back, it could cause significant problems as lawmakers begin setting the state’s next two-year budget.
More in this excerpt from Thursday’s scrum with Gazelka: