Dakota Times

Rep. Tony Jurgens gave an update on the State Capitol as public safety reforms broke apart and other discussions failed, according to his Facebook post. 

"Public safety reform negotiations fell apart, nothing was agreed on. A bonding bill wasn't even close," Jurgens said on Facebook. "We waited all night for a clean CARES Act bill that never came."

As the legislature continues to debate $841 million in federal funding, communities in the state such as counties and towns are still waiting on this crucial funding.  

"There was absolutely no reason to play games with this money," Jurgens said in his Facebook post. "If it was an attempt to gain negotiating leverage for something else it was a colossal failure that falls squarely on the shoulders of the House Speaker and Majority Leader. No $52 [million] to Dakota County, no $31.7 [million] to Washington County, no $2.8 [million] to the City of Cottage Grove and no $1.7 [million] to the City of Hastings. This Special Session is done so until or unless the Governor calls another Special Session the outcome won't change and local units of government won't receive this much needed COVID-19 related funding."