Minnesota special session expected early next week

Published 12:34 pm Friday, July 15, 2011

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A special legislative session to end Minnesota’s state government shutdown could start as early as Monday.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Mark Dayton said Friday that Dayton plans to call lawmakers back to the Capitol when the details of budget bills are finalized in private meetings expected to continue throughout the weekend.

Spokeswoman Andrea Mokros said the special session would likely start early next week, Monday at the earliest.

Dayton and Republican legislative leaders agreed on the outlines of a budget deal on Thursday after Dayton dropped his push to raise income taxes and Republicans gave up policy proposals. But the two sides have yet to sign off on the fine print of the agreement.

Minnesota’s shutdown is the nation’s longest in recent history.