State shutdown: Frequently Asked Questions
Published 1:41 pm Monday, June 27, 2011
By Catharine Richert
Minnesota Public Radio News
Gov. Mark Dayton and legislative leaders have been meeting to discuss their differences over the state budget, but the deadline to avoid a government shutdown is now less than a week away. Here are answers to frequently asked questions about the shutdown.
Q: Why is the state facing a government shutdown?
A: Gov. Mark Dayton and the Republican-controlled Legislature are at odds over $1.8 billion in state spending for the upcoming two-year budget cycle.
The governor has proposed raising taxes on the wealthiest Minnesotans to support more spending in the coming biennium, but Republicans have rejected Dayton’s plan. The Legislature passed a $34 billion budget with no tax increases, but Dayton vetoed it.
The Minnesota Constitution requires appropriations before the state can spend any money, and so far, only funding for the Department of Agriculture has been signed into law.
For services to continue at all other agencies and departments, Dayton and the Republican-controlled Legislature must come to a spending agreement by July 1, the start of the new fiscal year. If not, the state will face a government shutdown; as many as 36,000 state workers could be laid off.
Q: Which government services would continue during a shutdown?
A: During a government shutdown, services that affect life, health and personal safety will continue. But those are broad terms, and ultimately, a court will decide which services are deemed “essential.”
Legal precedent provides some clues. During the 2005 partial government shutdown, the state continued to pay for prisons, state-run hospitals and various health care services, including nursing homes and mental health residential facilities, law enforcement and power production.
Other state services, such as state parks and drivers license processing offices, would likely shut down.
