Minnesota Preparing For Possible Goverment Shutdown

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Some Minnesota state agencies are moving ahead with plans to shut down operations if legislative leaders can't reach an agreement on a budget by July 1.

Lawmakers are still haggling over major, unresolved portions of a two-year state budget.

Beginning Monday, thousands of state employees are expected to receive 30-day layoff notices as a precaution against a budget impasse. Any government shutdown would be more limited than the one in 2011, but taxpayers would still notice. It could mean campground closures, fewer insurance regulators on the job and a thinly-staffed agriculture department.

Gov. Mark Dayton and House Republican leaders remain at odds over how much of the state budget surplus to direct to public schools. Education spending is key in negotiations ahead of an anticipated special session to finish work on the budget.