Politics

ST. PAUL (AP) ― Minnesota lawmakers groped for details Friday on how Gov. Tim Pawlenty's solo budgeting step would hit schools, hospitals, local governments and people on state health assistance.

He and top Democrats made a date for a late-morning meeting Saturday, one of their few face-to-face discussions about the budget.

The GOP governor has warned the Democratic-led Legislature that he wouldn't let the budget fight drag on past Monday, forcing them to strike a deal in short order or face repercussions of his unilateral budget cuts.

"A lot of this is reading between the lines," a frustrated Sen. Linda Berglin said amid a sharp string of questions to an administration official who oversees endangered health insurance programs.

For the most part, answers were hard to come by. Pawlenty's commissioners said they were still going through their options for line-item vetoes, delayed payments and other cuts the governor could make through an executive power known as unallotment.

Pawlenty signed a spending bill for courts, prisons and state-level law enforcement on Friday. He is due to act Saturday on bills for K-12 schools, higher education, state agencies, construction projects and agriculture and veterans programs.

In a public hearing, agency commissioners faced terse demands for information on potential and enacted cuts.

Democratic Sen. Tarryl Clark of St. Cloud earlier described Pawlenty's decision to balance the budget on his own as an extraordinary power play. "These problems are too huge for him to be going it alone," she said.

House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, penned a fundraising solicitation Friday labeling Pawlenty "caustic and combative."

"House Democrats and I need your help to send the message that the Governor's cowboy style of governing is not acceptable," it reads.

Still, top legislators said they were still searching for a negotiated budget solution.

Pawlenty, on his weekly radio show, said he is open to continued discussions. But he said he wouldn't let the fight spill into a special session or result in a government shutdown.

"I don't know if they're willing, interested or even able" to get a deal, Pawlenty said of DFL leaders.

Pawlenty began closing a $3 billion budget gap through line-item vetoes on Thursday night. Most notably, he slashed $381 million from a health program known as General Assistance Medical Care.

Under questioning, Human Services Commissioner Cal Ludeman described GAMC enrollees as "the poorest and sickest amongst us," but said they could get coverage through other public programs when their plan expires in mid-2010. It serves between 30,000 and 35,000 childless adults near or below the federal poverty line.

Some would qualify for the MinnesotaCare program. Berglin said she doubted many would be able to pay premiums under that program and cash-strapped hospitals would be further burdened with uncompensated care.

Hennepin County Medical Center, the state's largest safety net hospital, is looking at cutting unprofitable programs and could even curtail a policy of treating patients without checking their insurance status first, said Dr. Michael Belzer, HCMC's medical director.

"Hennepin County Medical Center would not resemble the institution that it is now that the community has come to rely on," he said.

Belzer said the hospital is required by law to treat acutely ill patients, but potentially could cut back on taking other cases who can't pay. He said officials there are considering their options if they lose between $40 million and $100 million a year in state payments.

Another flashpoint is school funding.

Education Commissioner Alice Seagren testified that Pawlenty wouldn't cut payments to schools, but some would be delayed. She didn't supply details.

Clark said schools lacking reserves would have to resort to borrowing with interest to get by until their state checks arrive.

Senate Minority Leader David Senjem, R-Rochester, said all the what-ifs could be avoided if the governor and lawmakers can find middle ground.

"If we can work together and make something work, I am willing to do that," Senjem said, adding. "We want a better outcome if there is one."

That's a tall order. All year long, Pawlenty, his GOP allies and Democrats have been at odds over what cuts to make and how to find more money to patch a projected budget deficit.

Pawlenty proposed borrowing almost $1 billion against future tobacco lawsuit settlement payments, a move that would patch the immediate hole but come with long-term debt. Democrats pushed through an equally sized tax increase plan, which Pawlenty vetoed.

Republican leaders have said their members will uphold the governor's veto. It would take at least three GOP defections in the House for an override because the constitution requires two-thirds votes in both chambers.

Clark said the override door might not be slammed shut.

"There is a lot of pressure and there will be more pressure for Republican legislators who may have thought the governor going on his own gets them off the hook. This is about our communities and our constituents," Clark said. "People have to decide they care more about the people in their communities than partisan politics."

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Lawmakers managed to narrowly avoid a special session drafting the budget last year.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)