Governor Tim Walz says a new economic forecast coming out today (915am) will show the state budget in “materially better” shape than the 2.4-billion-dollar deficit predicted last May. Lawmakers will have an updated estimate of how much red ink they have to address next year, and also how much money is available for a proposed aid package for restaurants and bars closed due to COVID. The governor said earlier he’d like a package passed this week in a special session — and is that on track? “Possibly. Yeah, possibly,” he said yesterday. “And I’ve said once they’re ready and once we have an agreement, I’ll call ’em back [for a special session] and we’ll get this done.”
The governor adds, “As you might expect, House Democrats and House Republicans have a little different approach to this. Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats have a little different approach, and the package we put out is different than all four of those. So we’re at the point right now we’re trying to meld them together.”