Budget Deal Prompts Veto Threat

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota lawmakers are sprinting to formalize a $41.5 billion, two-year state budget that has drawn the ire of Gov. Mark Dayton.

House-Senate committees are meeting throughout the weekend to prepare the bills that make up the budget for final votes. One of them, an education plan, drew a veto threat from Dayton.

The Democratic governor says the $400 million in new school spending isn't sufficient and he's holding out for $550 million that includes funding for a prized preschool initiative.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk and Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt say they'll press ahead and would be disappointed if Dayton scuttles the bill. Doing so could force a special session sometime after Monday's required adjournment.

The pact leaves major decisions on tax cuts and transportation until next year.

_________________________________________________________________________

Minnesota's public health care program for nearly 100,000 working poor residents will be preserved in an emerging budget deal.

House Republicans put MinnesotaCare on the chopping block this year, citing the program's growing costs and a funding source that will expire in 2019.

But House Speaker Kurt Daudt said Friday MinnesotaCare will stick around as part of a deal with Senate Democrats and Gov. Mark Dayton. They'll instead launch a task force to study the program's future.