Heated Dayton, Daudt meeting sinks special session hopes

The chances for a special legislative session this month to offer relief for rising MNsure premiums blew up Friday in an acrimonious public meeting between Gov. Mark Dayton and House Speaker Kurt Daudt (R-Crown).

A rare — and rancorous — public meeting between the governor and speaker landed the final blow to nearly six months of deadlocked negotiations between the two. The breakdown left both sides casting blame on the other for the failure to find agreement to hold a special session next week to address a sharp rise in MNsure insurance premiums, and a potential resolution to tax and bonding bills from the 2016 session.

“Things have fallen apart, basically, because of the governor’s actions,” a frustrated Daudt said during a morning news conference.

WATCH Full video of Dayton/Daudt meeting on YouTube

Friday’s tense back-and-forth ended a week marked by a flurry of letters, offers and accusations traded between the governor and speaker. Both Dayton and Daudt accused the other of adding provisions that hadn’t been previously agreed to during a Dec. 2 meeting that had laid out the framework for a deal.  

WATCH House Speaker Daudt addresses the media following Friday's meeting            

Gov. Mark Dayton talks to the media after a tense Dec. 16 public meeting with House Speaker Kurt Daudt to try to negotiate a compromise for a special session to fix the health care cost crisis. Photo by Paul Battaglia

The DFL governor had set a Thursday deadline to agree on parameters of a special legislative session to be held Dec. 20. But, by Friday morning, legislative leaders and Dayton had yet to agree to meet ahead of the scheduled start of the 2017 session on Jan. 3.

Dayton offered proposed bill language on Tuesday that includes pulling $312 million from the Health Care Access Fund to pay for a 25 percent rebate for Minnesotans purchasing health insurance on the state’s exchange. Dayton also proposed amended versions of the tax and bonding bills passed by lawmakers in May.

WATCH Full video of Gov. Dayton's news conference on YouTube

Daudt said Dayton’s plan would not have offered relief on Jan. 1, 2017, to Minnesotans impacted by the rising cost of purchasing plans on MNsure. He said the House would pass a premium relief bill the first week of session next month.

The governor criticized Daudt, saying the speaker didn’t want a special session and hadn’t worked to find a feasible solution ahead of next month’s regular session.

Dayton characterized the failure to reach an agreement as “a shared failure” during an afternoon news conference that followed his public meeting with Daudt.

“It’s bad for Minnesota, there’s no doubt about it,” Dayton said.