Deal Temporarily Rolls Back Pay Raises for Top State Officials

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota House has endorsed a deal that stalls commissioner pay hikes until June but gives Gov. Mark Dayton a narrow window to boost those salaries.

The agreement approved 106-21 heads next to the Senate, which won't act until next week. The bill returns pay for state agency heads to last year's levels and keeps them there until June 30, temporarily wiping out big increases Dayton granted last month.

Dayton could enact new raises on July 1. If he waits until July 2, those raises would be subject to legislative signoff.

There is urgency because the underlying bill with the pay language includes time-sensitive funding for Minnesota's Ebola response, its sex-offender confinement program, the Minnesota Zoo and the Department of Natural Resources.