Sen. Minority Leader Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook)
As the budget stalemate continues at the State Capitol, the Democratic leader of the Minnesota Senate says there’s not enough money available to do tax cuts as large as Republicans want plus a transportation funding bill — and he says GOP lawmakers will have to decide which one. And Senator Tom Bakk from Cook says, “Resolving something on transportation will need to be an incredibly bipartisan vote…, otherwise I think we’re probably gonna fail.” Bakk adds, to make enough money available for tax cuts, Republicans must be willing to tap 350 million dollars from a special fund and use it for health care programs. Bakk says Republicans didn’t have any problem passing a 400-million-dollar health care “reinsurance” bill earlier in the session, “but now all of a sudden there’s this sanctity of the Health Care Access Fund.” Four days remain in the legislative session.