Legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Walz are scheduled to return to the negotiating table today after ending the weekend without announcing a budget deal.
Threat level: Just one week remains until the narrowly divided Legislature's May 19 adjournment deadline.
If they can't pass a budget by then, they'll need a special session to avert a summer shutdown.
What we're watching: Tensions between progressive and moderate wings of the DFL spilled into public view last week, after six "Blue Dog" Senate Democrats joined Republicans to approve an amendment exempting some small businesses and farms from state's new Earned Sick and Safe Time law.
One of those moderates, Assistant Majority Leader Nick Frentz (DFL-North Mankato), is also carrying legislation to scale back the state's new Paid Family and Medical Leave program.
Frentz told reporters for Axios and MPR last week that he expects the "Blue Dog" coalition will continue to push for "a little more bipartisanship, a little more fiscal responsibility" through the "finish line."
But he said it's up to caucus leaders to decide whether proposed changes to paid family leave and other landmark policies passed during the DFL trifecta make it into a budget deal.
