Dear MN Contractors: We may not have any money after July 1. Sincerely, The State of Minnesota

With no budget deal in sight, a notice published in the State Register warns contractors, vendors and grantees that the state might be out of money come July 1.

"As of this time, the executive branch of the State of Minnesota is preparing contingency plans in the event of a possible shutdown of state government....In the absence of legislation specifically appropriating funds for the continuing operation of the State of Minnesota for the next biennium, state authority to expend or release funds to pay for goods or services will be limited after June 30,"said the notice from the state Department of Administration.

The notice notes that the Legislature adjourned on May 23 with only the agriculture budget signed into law.

The department told vendors that the it is possible a deal will be reached before July 1 but lacking that "work activity under the contracts as of that date must be suspended, pending authorized appropriation."

Ryan Church, assistant commissioner for the administration department, said the state is still working to get a handle on how many projects and how much money could be impacted by a shutdown, should it come to that.

"I don't think most people can begin to comprehend all of the things that the state appropriations support," Church said.

Church said that the state's contracts tend to have boilerplate language that says if funds are not available the state can immediately terminate contracts with no notice. He said should state government shut down, it would be easier to suspend the contracts, rather than terminate or cancel them, because ending them could require elaborate restart procedures.

Meanwhile, the high level discussions to avoid a shutdown appear to be on pause. Since the end of the legislative session, Dayton and the legislative leaders have not had high level meetings to lay the ground work for a budget deal, according to Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch.

Koch said there may be a meeting later this week.

On Tuesday, the Senate appointed members to the Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy, a committee of legislative leaders that has been used in recent years to analyze -- and criticize -- state budgets.

"It has a broad, sweeping scope," Koch said.