There's still no word on when a special session of the Minnesota legislature will be called.
Lawmakers have been working toward a compromise since adjourning last week, despite not finalizing a budget.
House Democratic Floor Leader Jamie Long (Minneapolis) told Tom Houser on the WCCO Morning News they still have things to tie up before the special session can happen.
"Well, the governor's the one who gets to make the call, and I think he's gonna want to make sure all the budget bills are wrapped up," Long explains. "I could see Friday as a possibility, but I suspect it might be a day or two after that."
Long told WCCO exactly what lawmakers have been saying since the session came to an end - that they're 'close.'
"Well, we're not threatening to shut the government down," says Long. "We're not threatening to push into late June. We're trying to wrap things up in the next week or so."
June 1 is a key date for the legislature. It's at that point they need to start notifying some state agencies of layoff notices without a two-year state budget agreement.
Only Governor Tim Walz (DFL) can call a special session, which typically is a short, one-day vote on issues resolved after the official adjournment date.
The House has been trying to finalize details in workgroups and did work through the holiday weekend trying to button things up. That process, mostly behind closed doors, has made it difficult to get information on where the budget bill stands or what roadblocks lie in the way of getting a budget to the governor.
Still on the docket is finishing up work on a K-12 Education budget, a transportation package, and lawmakers need to figure out the health and human services budget - big ticket items in the two-year state budget.
What has passed, a public safety and judiciary bill, which includes plans to close the Stillwater Correctional Facility by 2029, and an increase penalties for drunk drivers.
Lawmakers also decided to defund a $77 million passenger rail project between Minneapolis and Duluth and they will take that money and use it for unemployment insurance for hourly school workers during the summer.
There is still plenty to work out, with some Democrats who still don't want healthcare rolled back for undocumented immigrants, a compromise some leaders - including Walz - signed off on prior to the end of the session. In the agreement, children would still receive coverage.
Long said at a news conference last week that he plans to continue fighting that proposal. Does that mean fighting it even if it's slowing down the budget process? Long says it's worth fighting for but clearly says it won't stop the budget from getting to the finish line.
"I believe this was a really cruel demand by the GOP in budget negotiations," Long said. "The health care coverage was supported by hospitals, doctors, faith leaders, and let's be clear, we're not going to let anyone die in our state due to lack of health care. And so the question is just when do we cover them? When the care is very expensive when they're coming to the emergency room? Or do we try to provide them some preventive care so that it's less expensive for the overall system? So, this was never about the budget, unfortunately. This was just about the continued attacks on on immigrants in our community."
Long adds that for his part, the original agreement would be honored.
"This was one where (Republicans) were happy and we were not, but we're certainly trying to help persuade," Long says. "But I think that at the end of the day, we know we need to get a budget done and I think we're close."
Governor Walz has continued to say he's confident lawmakers will get a budget done before the process of a government shutdown but time continues to tick in St. Paul.