The fast pace of work at the Minnesota legislature does not show any signs of slowing down. A record number of bills have been introduced by both bodies and a closer examination of the numbers tells the full story. By the end of the fourth week of session the House and Senate outpaced the average number of bill introductions three-fold.* At that point, the House had introduced 968 bills and the Senate had introduced 903 bills.** As of Thursday, the House has introduced 1,582 bills and the Senate has introduced 1,526 bills.
The record number of bill introductions has also been accompanied by late night/early morning floor sessions and Friday Committee hearings that are usually reserved for the end of session. The unseasonably early push to pass high priority items through the legislative process contrasts with the typical end-of-session push. While it cannot be argued that lawmakers are procrastinating, only time will tell if the momentum keeps up throughout the session.
*For the fourth week of a biennium.
**The average number of bills introduced by the fourth week for an odd year session is 314 in the House and 265 in the Senate. More on bill intros |
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Gov. Walz Signs Carbon Free Bill On Tuesday, Gov. Walz signed HF7 into law, requiring electric utilities to move to 100 percent carbon free energy by 2040, and energy utilities must show that 55 percent of energy sales are from renewable sources by 2035. The bill passed through both bodies of the legislature after lengthy floor session debates ending in votes along party lines. The distinction between “carbon free” and “renewable” is also important to note. According to the law: wind, solar, and nuclear power all count toward the carbon-free goal, but nuclear energy is not considered renewable and will not count toward the renewable energy sales goal. If a utility can not meet these deadlines by generating or buying carbon-free energy, utilities can pay for energy credits. Utilities can also ask for an “off ramp” if they can demonstrate an inability to meet these standards without driving up costs or impacting reliability. |
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Attorney General’s Budget Request Approved by House Following passage of the bill by the Senate, the House approved $4.3 million in funds to the state attorney general’s criminal division. $269,000 of the funds would be allocated immediately, and an additional $2 million would be infused into the attorney general’s budget for each year of the biennium. The funding would help hire more prosecutors and support staff, increasing the number of full-time attorneys from three to ten, and allowing the office to take an estimated 70-80 additional cases each year. Attorney General Keith Ellison emphasized that the bill would allow his office to better assist counties with high profile or complex cases that they may have less experience with. The bill now awaits signature by Gov. Walz. |
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Minnesota Roads to Receive $315 Million Gov. Walz has signed HF26 (Koegel/Dibble) which unlocks federal funds from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to improve Minnesota’s roads. The bill includes $235 million to restore Trunk Highway Bonds used as a state match for bridge, community resiliency and carbon reduction programs and to address inflationary impacts and gaps in existing projects. There is also $80 million to fully fund the approved State Transportation Improvement Program.
HF26/SF24 passed both the House and Senate unanimously. |
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Senate Confirms Several Commissioners Several of Gov. Tim Walz’s cabinet members were confirmed by the Senate this week. In Minnesota, commissioners can begin working once an announcement of their appointment is made to the Senate. Once confirmed, the appointee can serve at the will of the governor — but it is common practice for the Senate to confirm appointees. Though it’s rare for commissioner confirmations to be rejected (only 17 appointees have been rejected by the Senate since 1937) it has happened twice in Gov. Walz’s tenure. The following commissioners appointed by the governor were confirmed this week: - Department of Transportation Commissioner: Nancy Daubenberger
- Department of Agriculture Commissioner: Thom Petersen
- Department of Revenue Commissioner: Paul Marquart
- Department of Administration Commissioner: Alice Roberts-Davis
- Department of Management and Budget Commissioner: James Schowalter
- Department of Veteran Affairs Commissioner: Larry Herke
Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic announced that more confirmations will come before the Senate next week. |
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March 10: First Committee Deadline
March 24: Second Committee Deadline
April 4: Third Committee Deadline
April 5-10: Legislative Break
May 22: Last day of the 2023 Legislative Session |
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