UPDATE: Special Session Drags Into Wednesday Morning

UPDATE: 1 a.m. Wednesday

As of 1 a.m. Wednesday, eight bills were on their way to Gov. Mark Dayton's office to be signed into law. An additional bill had been passed in the House but not the Senate.

Dayton has said he would not sign any bills until all 12 had passed the House and Senate.

Between the hours of 7 and 8 p.m. Tuesday, the process was moving along smoothly. Within 45 minutes, the Senate passed six bills and the House passed five. Then they recessed.

Lawmakers adjourned to discuss some of the most contentious and complex pieces of upcoming legislation. The bills: health and human services, taxes, K-12 education, bonding, pension and state government.

When the parties reconvened at 9:30 p.m., the finger-pointing began.

“This budget is morally bankrupt,” Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) said while debating on the House floor. “The GOP are the first majority to leave the state worse off than they found it financially.”

Minority Leader Paul Thissen (DFL-Minneapolis) added: “This is a beg, borrow and steal budget. It borrows and steals from Minnesota’s future and begs the people of our state to look the other way as once again (Republicans) simply kick the can down the road. ... Republicans have nothing to be proud of today. In fact, Republicans have every reason to hang your heads in shame.”

GOP House Majority Leader Matt Dean (R-Dellwood) fired back at DFL counterparts, accusing them of forgetting to do their jobs by balancing the budget and “dragging (Minnesota) into a shutdown.”  

As it stands, listed below are the bills and the votes that passed them:   

Special Session Bills
Senate Judiciary/Public Safety bill: 57-7
House Judiciary/Public Safety bill: 77-51

Senate Environment bill: 43-22
House Environment bill: 71-57

Senate Jobs and Economic Growth bill: 42-23
House Jobs and Economic Growth bill: 76-50

Senate Transportation bill: 38-27
House Transportation bill: 71-56

Senate Higher education bill: 35-30
House Higher education bill: 71-57

Senate Health & Human Services bill:
House Health & Human Services bill:

Senate K-12 education bill:
House K-12 education bill:

Senate State Government bill:
House State Government bill:

Senate Legacy bill: 65-0
House Legacy bill: 98-30

Senate Pension bill: 61-3
House Pension bill: 115-12

Senate Taxes bill: 37-27
House Taxes bill: 71-57

Senate Bonding bill:
House Bonding bill: 112-17

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UPDATE: 9:15 p.m.

It took less than an hour’s work for Minnesota lawmakers, who reconvened this afternoon, to pass five bills, the first of several that Gov. Mark Dayton is expected to sign.

"It's running pretty smoothly this evening," Rep. Kelby Woodard (R-Northfield) told Northfield Patch at 9 p.m.

The House and Senate took their seats in the Legislature at around 3 p.m., opened the special session, observed a moment of silence for the late Sen. Linda Scheid (D-Brooklyn Park) and then recessed for more than three hours.

When they reconvened at around 7 p.m., they got to work. Within an hour, the Senate had passed six bills; the House had passed five. The Legislature then went into recess again; lawmakers are expected back at their desks later this evening.

Woodard said he is hopeful that all the bills will be signed before midnight, but said the process could stretch into the early hours of Wednesday morning.

"It's going to be a little time," he said, nothing that regardless of when the bills are signed, it's important to get them signed and get 22,000 state employees back to work.

As it stands now, listed below are the bills and the votes that passed them:   

Minnesota Senate
Judiciary/Public Safety bill: 57-7
Environment bill: 43-22
Jobs and Economic Growth bill: 42-23
Transportation bill: 38-27
Higher education bill: 35-30
Legacy bill: 65-0

Minnesota House of Representatives
Transportation bill: 71-56
Higher education bill: 71-57
Judiciary/Public Safety bill: 77-51
Environment bill: 71-57
Jobs and Economic Growth bill: 76-50

Woodard said he was "pretty happy" to see bipartisan support on some bills, most notably the Public Safety bill.

The remaining bills include some of the most complex and contentious pieces of legislature faced this session. They include: legacy (House only), health and human services, taxes, K-12 education, bonding, pension and state government.

Dayton has maintained that he will not sign any bills until all 12 have passed both the House and Senate.