Leaders say complex health and human services bills are delaying a Minnesota special session; goal is to finish before June 10 to avoid layoffs

Legislative leaders said the final drafting and review of Minnesota’s large health and human services budget bills is taking longer than expected, and they expect a special session as soon as Saturday to complete work — with an urgent goal of finishing before June 10 so additional layoff notices to state employees are not required.

Speaker 1, a legislator (unnamed in the transcript), told reporters that “for these very long bills, that takes a huge amount of time. It's complicated.” He said the review cycle requires draft language to circulate among House and Senate chairs from both parties and the implementing agencies, with specialists and nonpartisan reviser staff reviewing technical language before a final posting.

The delay matters because the health and human services bills together represent a substantial share of the state budget and affect programs for vulnerable Minnesotans, leaders said. “They're very significant parts of the state budget. I think together, they represent about 20% and growing of the state budget,” Speaker 1 said.

Leaders described the…