ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — On tie votes, new labor contracts for thousands of Minnesota state government employees have been put in limbo.

A joint House and Senate committee deadlocked Thursday on contracts Gov. Mark Dayton's administration negotiated with unions. Democrats moved to ratify them while Republicans opposed them.

Under state law, the contracts could still take hold in 30 days unless a majority vote to strike them down occurs. But these votes could foreshadow trouble in next year's legislative session where inability to ratify the pacts would peel back their terms.

Republicans argued the deals were too generous and not adequately accounted for in the state budget. Democrats responded that GOP members were micromanaging the collective bargaining process.

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