Budget Agreement Elusive as Deadline Approaches

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Republican legislative leaders say they'll send Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton another budget in hopes that he signs it.

The two sides have been meeting all week to strike a deal on a new two-year budget but made little progress. The Legislature must finish its work by midnight Monday.

GOP leaders announced Friday the framework of a budget that Dayton hadn't approved. It's a repeat of an earlier maneuver when they sent Dayton budget bills that were promptly vetoed.

But House Speaker Kurt Daudt says it's an effort at "true compromise." It has much more funding for public schools that Dayton wanted and $660 million in tax breaks — half of what the GOP had originally hoped for.

Daudt says they'll keep tweaking the bills to get the governor's approval.