Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders have been meeting for hours over the last few weeks to hammer out the terms of a budget agreement, but they still haven't inked a deal as the clock winds down. 

With just five days left, is going into overtime with a special session inevitable?

"Yes," DFL Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, one of the key leaders in the talks, told reporters going into the latest round of negotiations on Wednesday.

If there is a special session because they don't finish on time, it would be the first since 2021. 

But they aren't unique. There have been four in the last five budget-writing sessions — which falls during odd-numbered years — because the Legislature didn't pass the state's spending plan before the clock ran out. There were additional special sessions focused on pandemic response in 2020. 

Special sessions are not unique. There have been four in the last five sessions where lawmakers had to draft the next two-year budget — which falls during odd-numbered years — because the Legislature didn't pass the state's spending plan before the clock ran out. There were additional special sessions focused on pandemic response in 2020. 

The Minnesota Constitution  This year, that day falls next Monday.

All of those special sessions in the last decade happened when there was a divided government, like this year. In 2023, when Democrats controlled the House, Senate and governor's office, they finished on time.

"I think at this point it is really difficult to get done and do the work in the way we need to. So yes, I think a special session is very, very likely, if not inevitable," said Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul. 

So far this session has been unlike any other. There was a delayed start in the House amid a power dispute and that chamber is tied for only the second time in modern history; there were three special sessions for vacant seats; and a former GOP senator was arrested and charged for soliciting a minor for sex.

When asked if she thinks a special session is likely, Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth did not answer the question as she entered the governor's office for another meeting Wednesday. Instead she replied: "We're going back in for more conversations, and we're talking and it's good."

The Legislature must balance its budget for the next two years, but it's keeping an eye on the following two years where budget officials are projecting that $6 billion deficit. That state financial forecast is casting a cloud over negotiations this year.

Some other points of contention extend beyond funding the government and its program — and where lawmakers should cut to find savings. Senate Democrats, for example, want to raise revenue by implementing a special tax on social media companies, but Republicans say tax hikes are a nonstarter for them.

Meanwhile, Republicans say they want to eliminate or change DFL-backed laws they passed in the last two years, like unemployment insurance for hourly school workers and paid family and medical leave. 

Conference committees, or small panels of lawmakers in both chambers, have started their meetings hashing out the differences between some of their policy and budget bills on a specific topic — whether that's transportation, judiciary, commerce or others. 

But they need the budget blueprint agreed to by leaders and Walz with the top-line numbers in order to finalize those bills and get them to the floor for passage. 

Murphy said she expects lawmakers to work through the weekend up until Monday's deadline, even if a special session follows.

"It is important for us to recognize that we do our best work if we get some sleep, and we need to do good work for the people of Minnesota. And I think that is more important than finishing at midnight on the 19th of May. We all want to get done on the 19th, and we're going to do our part," she said. "But I do think it is important to recognize that human beings work here, and human beings need sleep."

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