There will be no special legislative session in St. Paul after legislative leaders hit an impasse in their negotiations on Thursday, leaving billions of the state's historic $10 billion surplus unspent and the divided Minnesota legislature blaming one another.
The impasse comes after leaders have negotiated for weeks a plan to send money back to Minnesotans, while making investments over the next three years and leaving billions for the state's bottom line.
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"We have reached an impasse," Governor Tim Walz said Thursday. "Senate Republicans have indicated they are not counter offering."
Walz added that Senate Republicans' offer made on May 23 would be the final offer made.
"Think about Minnesota Republicans walking away from the largest tax cut since 1858," Walz added. "Because we're unwilling to honor a deal we all made with a surplus. It makes no sense to me."
Republican Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller passed blame onto Walz and the DFL-controlled House, saying Democrats weren't willing to pass a $4 billion tax cut proposal without billions of dollars in spending elsewhere.
“Simply put, Governor Walz and the House Democrats have different spending priorities than Minnesotans. After four months of session and four more weeks of discussions, the differences could not be resolved," Miller said in a statement.
House Speaker Melissa Hortman said Thursday that Minnesotans are losing out.
"The reason why it's so deeply disappointing is that Minnesotans deserve more funding for their nursing homes, they deserve more funding for special education in our schools, and they deserve safe roads and bridges," Hortman said. "We put at-risk billions of dollars in federal money by not finishing this deal."