Tag: Minnesota Budget

by Bethany Blankley   The nation’s only divided legislature has reached agreements on all of its remaining budget disputes, Gov. Tim Waltz and leaders of the Senate Republican and House Democratic majorities said Thursday. They reached a compromise on the biggest part of the budget during Thursday’s special session – the health and human services funding bill, which has not yet been posted. The special session could go into Friday, some aides say. Legislators first agreed to higher education funding and opioid bills. The final higher education spending plan totals $3.41 billion for the 2020-21 biennium, $150 million more than projected in February. It increased funding for the state’s Office of Higher Education, which oversees the state’s financial aid program, by $25 million. It also increased funding for the Minnesota State system by $81.5 million, and increased funding for the University of Minnesota by $43.5 million, excluding the House’s call for a tuition freeze. It left the Mayo Foundation’s medical education program funding at $2.7 million. The opioid bill requires pharmaceutical companies and drug distributors to pay $20.9 million in annual fees, limited to a minimum of five years, and only after the state recovers at least $250 million from…