(ST PAUL, MINN) – Minnesota State Senator Mark Johnson (R-East Grand Forks) says the State Senate is in flux as it nears the upcoming session.
“All the circus that is happening over on the House side is somewhat happening over on the Senate side,” he said. “The House is fighting for the next two years. What we are fighting for over on the Minnesota Senate side is maybe as little as three weeks. It could be as much as two months.”
The Senate is tied 33-33, with one seat currently vacant due to the death of former Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic.
The first day of session is Tuesday.
“We’re still trying to figure out what that looks like,” Johnson said. “We’re working with Democrats trying to figure out what that opening day is going to be.”
Among the biggest issues facing the Senate in the session is the budget.
“We have some real issues in the Minnesota budget right now,” Johnson said. “We’ll have a little surplus here in the next two years coming up, but after that, there’s a $5.1 billion deficit that we’re looking at.”
He says anything the Senate does now will impact the deficit.
“We gotta make sure we’re being extra careful,” Johnson said. “Democrats have put us in a terrible situation in our state budget. We’re gonna have to come back and repair that.”
