Another partisan battle......pitting brother against brother, father against son. ABB.
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Budget stalemate halts Minnesota government
By BRIAN BAKST
The Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. — More than 9,000 state employees were told to stay home yesterday and drivers found highway rest stops closed at the start of the busy Fourth of July weekend as a budget stalemate led to the first government shutdown in Minnesota history.
The Democrats, who control the state Senate, were locked in a standoff with Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the GOP-controlled House over how much to spend on schools and health care and how to pay for it. As a result, the new fiscal year began yesterday, just after midnight, with only a partial spending plan in place.
Essential services such as the state patrol continued to function, and an 11th-hour agreement was reached to keep state parks open over the holiday weekend. But drivers on one of the busiest travel days of the year found highway rest stops barricaded, and driver's-license-exam stations and other state offices were closed.
Nearly one-fifth of the state work force was told to stay home and use either vacation time or go without pay.
"I'd like to say I'm sorry to the people of Minnesota," said Republican state Rep. Rod Hamilton. "This is disgusting."
Democrats accused the governor of making shifting demands, and the Republicans charged that the Democrats wanted at least a brief shutdown to hurt Pawlenty as he prepares for a 2006 re-election campaign.
The Capitol has been beset with partisan gridlock in recent years. The Legislature has 101 Democrats and 99 Republicans, and one third-party member.
During the months of budget negotiations, the Democrats had sought a tax increase for upper-income residents. The Republicans fought that, with Pawlenty advancing the possibility of higher levies on cigarettes and a casino at a racetrack.
seattletimes.nwsource.com |
