For Now, Roseville's State Sen. John Marty Doubts State Will Avoid Shutdown

At the end of every state Legislative session, District 54 Sen. John Marty hosts a town hall meeting to give his Roseville constituents an update on what happened at the State Capitol and get their feedback.

Tentatively, Marty’s town hall meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., June 29 in the House of Representatives chambers at the State Capitol. (Also hosting the meeting are House 54A Rep. Mindy Greiling and House 54B Rep. Bev Scalze, both whose districts include parts of Roseville.)

But with any luck, Marty said he hopes he’ll have to postpone that meeting.

In an interview with Roseville Patch, Marty said he is holding out hope that Senate and House leaders will work out a solution to the current state budget impasse, so that Gov. Mark Dayton can call a special legislative session. Without that special session, the state government is on a collision course for a July 1 shutdown. Currently, the state is facing a projected $5 billion shortfall for the next two-year budget cycle.  

Marty, the ranking DFLer on the Senate Tax Committee, said he has been spending most of his time working with a handful of other key lawmakers to try and break the budget impasse. But given the dearth of progress in those recent legislative meetings, Marty said he wasn’t optimistic about averting a government shutdown. “I don’t expect that (special session) to happen until July,” he said.

Still, Marty said,  if a total or partial government shutdown comes to pass, the results could be “disastrous” for the state.

“It will hurt the economy and business,” Marty said. For example, a shutdown of the state parks would be ill timed when lots of Minnesotans are planning vacations at them in early July, he said.  “It’s not the end of the world. But, it’s not a good thing.”

In the end, legislative leaders need to keep talking, with the hope of breaking the impasse, Marty said. “The first step is talking, otherwise there is no progress.”