The Legislature's leaders say they have reached a deal with Gov. Mark Dayton office to tentatively schedule an Aug. 24 special legislative session to deal with flood relief from the June storms.
"The exact time and final disaster relief package has yet to be determined, however, we are notifying members for your planning purposes," Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem and House Speaker Kurt Zellers said in a letter to lawmakers Monday.
Dayton and the legislative leaders have talked about a one-day special session largely to approve a state match for federal disaster relief funds and to fill any gaps the federal help leaves behind.
On Tuesday, lawmakers will meet to begin drafting the relief package.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved emergency funds to help fix public infrastructure but denied the state's request for fund to help individuals recover from the storms that flooded basements and destroyed homes.
Dayton has appealed that rejection.
If history is any guide, his plea for assistance may go unheeded.
According to FEMA, in the last three years states have made 23 appeals of the agency's rejection of individual assistance grant funding. Of those, only five were granted.
