The Minnesota Senate narrowly approved a 7 percent cut to public safety and corrections on Monday, as Democratic leaders continued their push for across-the-board spending reductions to fill the state’s $4.6 billion budget deficit.

The public safety omnibus spending bill failed its first Senate floor vote, showing the difficulty Senate Democrats face in getting all of their members to go along with the cuts. Eleven Democrats joined Republicans in voting against the bill as it was finally approved 34-31 on a second vote.

The Senate also approved a state government spending bill that makes 5 percent cuts to the governor’s office, the Legislature and other state government offices. That vote was 59-6.

Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty had recommended similar cuts to state government operations, but he set aside public safety as one of a few areas that should be protected as lawmakers try to balance the state’s two-year budget.

The Senate’s second-attempt approval of the public safety bill came nearly two weeks after senators barely approved a more than 3 percent cut to education — another area where Pawlenty opposes cuts.

In trying to persuade members to vote in favor of the public safety bill, DFL Sen. Linda Higgins of Minneapolis acknowledged that making the cuts was difficult. “We had to balance public safety and a fiscal crisis. We have tried to do our best to balance those two items,” Higgins said. The bill instructs the Departments of Public Safety and Corrections to reduce their fleets of vehicles by 20 percent.

In public safety, operating budgets for agencies including the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Homeland Security would be cut 7 percent.

While 7 percent cuts to the state’s prison system would be softened by $30 million in federal stimulus money, the bill could lead to staff reductions. The legislation requests corrections officials to consolidate prison staff and other corrections employees. It also limits dental services in prisons to initial intake and emergencies only at a savings of $1.2 million.

A contentious portion of the bill that would have required offenders to serve 60 percent of their sentences in prison — lower than the current two-thirds — was stricken during the floor debate. But the bill would repeal a law requiring a judge to impose a mandatory three-year minimum sentence for felony drunken driving offenses.

Several Republican members objected to that provision.

“I hate to go backwards, and I see us slipping here,” said Sen. Claire Robling, R-Jordan, as she told members of her sister-in-law’s death caused by a drunken driver five years ago.

Higgins cited statistics showing Minnesota has one of the fastest growing prison populations in the country, and she said that fact couldn’t be ignored as the state looks at ways to control costs.

But Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, said a growing prison population shouldn’t be a sign that Minnesota needs to be “soft on crime.”

“This bill goes in a dangerous direction that reverses many of Minnesota’s efforts to get tough on crime in recent years,” Limmer said.

Also Monday, the Senate approved a $196.8 million spending plan for federal stimulus money for energy programs, and the House unanimously approved its public safety policy bill. The Senate was still debating its public safety policy bill late Monday.

Lawmakers have four weeks to approve a two-year budget before their scheduled adjournment. The House begins taking up spending bills on Wednesday.