Deficiency bill passed

The House passed a significant piece of legislation yesterday, the so-called deficiency bill, which covers projected shortfalls in this budget cycle for certain activities, such as state prisons and public defenders. As these things are basically required to be provided by the state, there was no choice but to pass the bill. The $30 million to pay for this will come out of the budget reserve.

The bill passed on a bipartisan 131-2 vote. While some are seeing this as evidence of a new bipartisan era in the House, I wouldn't be too sure. This was a fairly noncontroversial bill, and if House Republican leadership insists on carrying Governor Pawlenty's ridiculous budget, look for bipartisanship to end if they refuse to compromise.