Ewald at the Capitol

May 26, 2023

Minnesota Legislature Ends on Time with Completed Budget, Bonding Agreement Reached, and more

Minnesota Legislature Ends on Time with Completed Budget

Monday evening concluded the historic 2023 legislative session. The legislature passed a complete state budget before the adjournment deadline, the eighth time in 40 years (and the first time in a decade) that a budget passed without requiring a special session. The $71.5 billion budget uses all the $17.6 billion surplus. This year also marks the first time in three years that a bonding bill was passed. More information on what was passed in the final weekend of the session follows.

On Wednesday, Gov. Walz held a ceremonial bill signing in front of the Capitol to celebrate the new budget. Hundreds of supporters and lawmakers joined in on the celebration. The governor and other DFL legislative leaders addressed the crowd of supporters and fellow lawmakers to celebrate the new budget. The piece of paper signed by Walz was just a representation of his “One Minnesota” budget, as the governor still has several bills left in need of his formal signature.

Bonding Agreement Reached

With the DFL holding trifecta control in the House, Senate and Governor’s office, they were able to pass almost everything on their wish list. Almost everything, except for a bonding bill —and leading up to the last day of session, it looked like this year would be the third year without a bonding bill. However, all sides were able to find agreement in the end and a bonding package was passed with strong bipartisan support.

As a reminder, the $1.9 billion bonding infrastructure bill (HF 669) passed with bipartisan support in the House earlier this session, but hit a roadblock when it failed in the Senate. Bonding bills require a three-fifths majority to pass. It could not achieve the requisite number of votes in the Senate — where Republicans opposed the measure unless several concessions, including a full elimination of the Social Security tax and increased funding for nursing homes, had been met.

In the weeks leading up to adjournment, the DFL was ready to pass a cash-only capital investment bill that would have funded mostly DFL projects and required a simple majority. Last week, the Senate Rules Committee sent the $1.3 billion cash-only version of the bill forward. This bill required only a simple majority and no Republican support to pass. The bill also notably left out several Greater Minnesota projects that were included in the $1.9 billion bonding bill passed by the House.

On Saturday, a bipartisan agreement was finally reached. DFL and Republican leaders came to a deal including $300 million in funding for nursing homes and $2.6 billion for two capital investment bills: a bonding bill, and a general funds appropriation, or “cash” bill. On Monday, these bills were two of the bills passed on the last day of session.

Bills Passed over the Weekend

Before adjourning on Monday, the Minnesota legislature worked through the weekend to finish up conference committee work, and to re-pass bills that had been agreed to by conference committees.

Notable bills, as agreed to by conference committees, include the modified “Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act” (renamed “Nurse and Patient Safety Act” and modified to remove all mentions of nurse staffing committees). The nursing facility funding, which served as an important bargaining chip to pass the two massive capital investment bills, also passed.

Timeline of bills passed by the House:

Friday

SF2934 Human services finance and policy bill
HF1830 State government and elections finance bill
HF100 Cannabis finance and policy bill

Saturday

HF1938 Tax finance and policy bill

Sunday

HF1900 Reauthorizing lottery money for environmental and natural resources trust fund
HF2887 Transportation finance and policy bill

Monday

HF1522 Nurse and Patient Safety Act
HF669 Authorization of bonds for capital investment projects
General fund allocation for capital investment projects
HF2995 Health and Human Services finance and policy bill
HF3342 Nursing facility funding
HF670 General fund allocation for capital investment projects

Timeline of bills passed by the Senate:

Friday

SF2934 Human services finance and policy bill
HF100 Cannabis finance and policy bill
HF1830 State government and elections finance bill

Saturday

HF1900 Reauthorizing lottery money for environmental and natural resources trust fund

Sunday

HF1938 Tax finance and policy bill
HF2887 Transportation finance and policy bill

Monday

HF2995 Health and Human Services finance and policy bill
HF1522 Nurse and Patient Safety Act
HF669 Authorization of bonds for capital investment projects
HF670 General fund allocation for capital investment projects

May 19, 2023

Waning Days of Legislative Session, Tax Agreement Reached, and more

Ewald at the Capitol

Waning Days of Legislative Session

In the final days of the 2023 Legislative Session, the House and Senate have been meeting daily and into the evenings. On their agenda has been the passage of remaining priorities, including the adoption of conference committee reports. These reports are the work of conference committees who met to hammer out the differences between the House and Senate versions of major appropriations bills. While several of these deals have passed through both bodies this week, several conference committees still have work to do. More information on all of the finalized deals will come in next week’s edition of Ewald at the Capitol, after the legislative deadline on Monday.

Tax Agreement Reached

The Committee on the Tax Omnibus bill reached an agreement late Wednesday evening. The tax bill will include limited tax rebates, childcare tax credits, some exemptions for social security tax, and higher taxes for corporations. In total, the bill provides $3 billion in tax cuts, and raises taxes by $1 billion.

Single Minnesotans who made $75,000 or less this year will be eligible for a $260 tax rebate, or $520 for married couples earning $150,000 or less. Those with children will also receive a $260 tax rebate per child, for up to three children. Families could also see tax credits for child care, starting at $1,750 and phasing out for higher incomes.

A total elimination of Social Security taxes won’t be coming this session. Individual filers with incomes of $100,000 or less (or joint filers with incomes of $140,000 or less) will be completely exempted from paying taxes on their Social Security Income.

The highly controversial worldwide combined reporting provision has been dropped from the tax proposal after Senate Tax Chair Ann Rest announced the Senate does not have the votes to support it. The Tax Conference Committee agreed to implement GILTI (global intangible low-taxed income) increase tax revenues from multinational corporations, raising $240 million for the biennium.

The final deal from the conference committee also directs $300 million in one-time funding to local law enforcement agencies and other community-based public safety efforts. It also allocates $80 million for local government aid and county aid, and $35 million in tribal aid over the biennium.

Still up in the air is a list of authorized local option sales taxes. More detailed information on that list will be included in next week’s edition of Ewald at the Capitol.

The proposed 75-cent delivery fee, a potential gas tax, and sales tax in the Twin Cities area are all being considered by the Transportation Conference Committee.

Bonding Negotiations Continue

The bonding or cash-only capital investment bill discussion has come back to life in the last days of the legislative session. As a reminder, the $1.9 billion bonding infrastructure bill (HF 669) was passed with bipartisan support by the House earlier this session but hit a roadblock when it failed in the Senate. Bonding bills require a three-fifths majority to pass, it was not able to achieve in the Senate where Republicans opposed the measure until several concessions, including a full elimination of the social security tax, had been met.

On Wednesday, the Senate Rules Committee sent the $1.3 billion cash-only version of the bill to the floor for a vote. This bill requires only a simple majority, and no Republican support to pass. Notably, this bill also leaves out several Greater Minnesota projects that are included in the $1.9 billion bonding bill.

Only time will tell which version of the bill goes to Governor Walz for his signature. Minnesota has gone without a bonding bill for nearly three legislative sessions in a row, though a last-minute bonding deal is still possible before the deadline on Monday.

May 12, 2023

Conference Committee Update, April Budget Update, and More

Ewald at the Capitol

Conference Committee Update

With just over a week left in the 2023 legislative session, committee hearings and floor sessions are being scheduled and re-scheduled at the last minute as the legislature races to finish their work on (or before) the adjournment date of May 22. Conference committees are busy ironing out the differences between massive omnibus bills and other priorities passed by the House and Senate. Several of them have wrapped up their work and sent their deals back to the House and Senate for final passage.

Here is a list of finance bills that have been passed by both bodies and sent to Gov. Walz for his signature:

HF1937 Omnibus Veterans and Military Affairs Finance Bill
HF1999 Omnibus Legacy Finance Bill
HF2335 Omnibus Housing Finance Bill
HF2073 Omnibus Higher Education Finance Bill
SF1955 Omnibus Agriculture Finance Bill

Senate Passes Paid Family & Medical Leave Bill

The Senate passed their paid family and medical leave bill on Monday with a party line vote of 34-33. The bill sets aside $668.3 million to set up the program for FY2024, before money is collected via a payroll tax on employees and employers, similar to Social Security benefits.

The money also establishes a new Family and Medical Benefits Insurance Division within the Department of Employment and Economic Development to oversee the program. Starting July 1, 2025, employees would be eligible for benefits if they are unable to work due to a serious health condition, safety leave, pregnancy, pregnancy recovery, or to care for a family member’s serious health condition, or a newborn. Employers would be able to opt out of paying into the state plan if they create their own private plan that meets or exceeds the same benefits.

The House version of the bill allows for 18 weeks of paid leave, with an additional 6 weeks permitted for pregnancy complications. The Senate version would cap total time for someone using benefits at 24 weeks. The bills now go to a conference committee to work out the differences before a final version can be signed by Gov. Walz.

May 5, 2023

Conference Committee Update, House Passes Paid Family and Medical LeaveConference Committee Update, and more

Ewald at the Capitol

Conference Committee Update

With two weeks left in the 2023 legislative session, many conference committees have been busy working out differences in major budget bills. A few conference committees, such as the committee working on the omnibus tax bill, are still in the process of being appointed and have not yet begun work.

Conference committees must resolve all differences in their bills before sending them to Gov. Walz for final passage. Here is a list of bills that have been referred to conference committees, with links to the latest updates for those committees:

HF100/SF73 – Omnibus cannabis bill.
HF1830/SF1426 – Omnibus state government finance bill.
HF1937/SF2247 – Omnibus veterans and military affairs finance bill.
HF1938/SF1811 – Omnibus tax bill.
HF1999/SF1682 – Omnibus legacy bill.
HF2073/SF2075 – Omnibus higher education finance and policy bill.
HF2292/SF2373 – Early learning scholarships, Head Start, and early education programs modified; early childhood educator programs provided; reports required; and money appropriated.
HF2310/SF2438 – Omnibus environment, natural resources, climate, and energy finance and policy bill.
HF2335/SF2566 – Omnibus housing finance and policy bill.
HF2497/SF2684 – Omnibus education finance bill.
HF2887/SF3157 – Omnibus transportation finance and policy bill.
SF1384/HF1522 – Omnibus Labor policy bill
SF1955/HF2278 – Omnibus Agriculture, Broadband and Rural Development appropriations
SF2744/HF2680 – Omnibus Commerce appropriations
SF2909/HF2890 – Omnibus Judiciary and Public Safety appropriations
SF2934/HF2847 – Omnibus Human Services appropriations
SF2995/HF2930 – Omnibus Health and Human Services appropriations
SF3035/HF3028 – Omnibus Jobs, Economic Development, Labor, and Industry appropriations

House Passes Paid Family and Medical Leave

The House passed their paid family and medical leave bill on Tuesday evening with a vote of 68-64. The bill passed on a mostly party-line vote, with two Democrats voting against the bill. The bill sets aside $668.3 million to set up the program for FY2024, before money is collected via a payroll tax on employees and employers, similar to Social Security benefits. The money also establishes a new Family and Medical Benefits Insurance Division within the Department of Employment and Economic Development to oversee the program.

Starting July 1, 2025, employees would be eligible for the benefit if they are unable to work due to a serious health condition, safety leave, pregnancy, pregnancy recovery, or to care for a family member’s serious health condition, or a newborn. Employers would be able to opt out of paying into the state plan if they create their own private plan that meets or exceeds the same benefits. The House version of the bill would provide up to 18 weeks of partially paid leave, less than the 24 weeks initially proposed. The bill now goes to the Senate, which has yet to act on it.

Marijuana Legalization Bills Head to Conference Committee

After months of committee hearings, a bill to legalize marijuana passed both the House and the Senate last week. The bill first passed the House on Tuesday with the support of two Republicans, and all but one Democrat, with a vote of 71-59. On Friday, the Senate passed the bill with a party line vote of 34-33. The measure would allow adults 21 and older to buy up to two ounces of cannabis flower and would expunge low-level cannabis convictions.

The two versions of the bill have several differences that must be worked out by a conference committee before it makes its way to Gov. Walz’s desk for signature. The Senate bill allows those growing cannabis privately to possess up to five pounds of cannabis, and two pounds for those buying cannabis. The House limits possession to 1.5 pounds for everyone. Another key difference is the tax rate in the two bills, the House taxes cannabis products at 8 percent, while the Senate has a higher rate of 10 percent. The differences between the two bills are currently being worked out in a conference committee. Once differences are worked out and a bill is signed by the governor, legalization will go into effect August 1.

University of Minnesota Regents Election

The House and Senate met in a joint convention on Monday night to elect members of the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents. Four board members were up for election from the 2nd, 3rd and 8th Congressional Districts as well as the at-large member.

Tadd Johnson, representing District 8, was the only member re-elected to his seat; the former professor, tribal attorney and tribal court judge retired from his position as the University’s first senior director of American Indian Tribal Nations Relations. West St. Paul City Council member Robyn Gulley was elected to the District 2 seat, replacing Steve Sviggum. In District 3, Minnesota Nurses Association President Mary Turner will replace Darrin Rosha. One of the four members-at-large, Ken Powell, will be replaced by Penny Wheeler, the former CEO of Allina Health.

The new board will get to work this week to review candidates for interim president as the current president Joan Gabel takes on a new role at the University of Pittsburgh.

Resources

Conference Committee Activity
Governor’s bill tracker

Dates to Remember

May 22: Last Day of the 2023 Legislative Session

April 17, 2023

Legislature Returns from Break, Omnibus Bills Breakdown, and more

Ewald at the Capitol

Legislature Returns from Break

The legislature returned from its week-long break, with six weeks left in the legislative session. They must complete their two-year budget by the adjournment date of May 22. Committees in the House and Senate have been advancing their omnibus budget bills and some budget bills have begun to be debated by the full House and Senate.

Once the budget bills pass off the House and Senate floors, the conference committee process will begin.

Omnibus Bills Breakdown

A few committees that had yet to act upon their omnibus bills met after the break to pass their budget bills. After these bills pass in their respective bodies, the conference committee process will begin, which is the process the House and Senate use to work out differences. The Tax committees have not yet released their omnibus bills.

Here are a few highlights on budget bills advancing after the legislative break.

Transportation

The bills include increases in car tabs fees, motor vehicle sales tax rates and a sales tax increase of .75 percent in the Twin Cities Metro area to raise $1 billion each year.
The House proposal also includes a 75 cent package delivery fee, but the Senate has not expressed support for this provision, so it is unlikely to be included in the final bill.

Taxes

Tax omnibus bills have not yet been released.
Senate DFL says the full elimination of the state tax on Social Security benefits will be part of their plan.
House DFL prefers a smaller reduction to the Social Security tax.

Bonding

Bonding requires a 60 percent supermajority to pass.
House Republicans supported a $2.3 billion bonding package earlier in session, which failed to get the necessary votes in the Senate.
Senate Republicans have pledged they are only willing to pass a bonding bill in exchange for the full elimination of the state tax on Social Security benefits.
The House and Senate DFL majorities may pass the bonding bill using state aid if there is not a compromise. A bill funded with state aid does not need a 60 percent majority to pass.

Energy

$255 million for climate and energy committees to spend in the next two years. Incentives for electric vehicles, school buses, and home heat pumps.
The House and Senate still need to sort out differences on energy storage requirements for electric utilities.

Housing

$1 billion in mostly one-time funding for public housing, affordable housing, rental assistance, and investments in naturally occurring affordable housing.

Agriculture and Rural Broadband

$100 million to fund new high-speed internet infrastructure in rural areas.
$50 million from state bond proceeds for the Rural Finance Authority.

Child Care

The House Children and Families’ committee bill is split into two parts to pair up with the Senate Education Committee and the Senate’s Health and Human Services bill.
$370 million to increase the reimbursement rate for the Child Care Assistance Program.
Funding to increase the pay of child care workers.
Expanding Early Learning Scholarships.

Local Government Aid

The House passed a bill to allocate $100 million for Local Government Aid and County Program Aid.
The Senate has not released a plan yet.

Still in Progress

Other top priorities continue to make their way through the committee process:

Recreational Marijuana

Bills to legalize recreational marijuana have cleared more than 20 committees in the House and Senate
These are stand-alone bills, not part of other omnibus bills
The tax rates and license fees (around $100 million a year) will not raise general fund revenue, but instead will cover program costs

Paid Medical and Family Leave

A proposal to create an insurance program for workers’ sick time and leave to care for newborn children or family members, allocating $668 million from the surplus to get the program running by 2025.

Resources

Who represents me?
Governor’s bill tracker
Senate Omnibus and Policy Bills
Governor and Legislature’s Budget Target Agreement

Dates to Remember

April 19: State of the State address
May 22: Last Day of the 2023 Legislative Session

March 24, 2023

Agreement Reached on Committee Budget Targets, Second Committee DeadlineAgreement Reached on Committee Budget Targets, and more

Ewald at the Capitol

Agreement Reached on Committee Budget Targets

Gov. Walz, Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic and House Speaker Melissa Hortman have reached an agreement on budget targets. The targets provide details to finance committees on how much money is available to spend in their omnibus budget bills. The budget targets provide the rough outline — but it is up to committee chairs to finalize details of how to spend their slice of the budget.

The agreement will use all the $17.5 billion surplus in the biennial budget. Here is a breakdown of the larger components of the budget framework:

$3 billion in tax cuts
$2.3 billion for infrastructure projects
$2.2 billion for K-12 education and pre-kindergarten
$2.2 billion fo capital/infrastructure projects
$1.178 billion for children and families
$1 billion for housing
$650 million for public safety
$255 million for energy and climate
$100 million for broadband expansion

The full budget agreement can be found here. Or download a PDF.

Second Committee Deadline

Today is the second committee deadline, which means that committees must act favorably on bills that met the first deadline in the other body. The next deadline, April 4, is the last deadline and one that finance bills must meet. Committee deadlines are determined by an agreement of both the House and Senate and set restrictions for when committees can hear and decide upon certain types of bills and are important to keep the legislature on track for the end of session. But as is often said, “No bill is really dead until Sine Die.”

More information on upcoming committee deadlines can be found at the bottom of this newsletter in the “Dates to Remember” section

March 20, 2023

Budget Targets to Come, Governor’s Revised Budget PlanBudget Targets to Come, and more

Ewald at the Capitol

Budget Targets to Come

Next Friday is the second legislative deadline, where committees must act favorably on bills that passed the first committee deadline in the other body. Major appropriation and finance bills are exempted from this deadline. With the release of the February budget forecast, which showed a budget surplus set at $17.5 billion, the governor and legislature now must decide where to allocate the funds toward a two-year state budget. Legislative leaders will decide budget targets soon. Budget targets break down how much finance committees can expect to appropriate for their omnibus budget bills.

Governor’s Revised Budget Plan

Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan presented their revised “One Minnesota Budget” this week. The revised plan doubles the public safety plan to $550 million for local governments to spend. $240 million would be dedicated to replacing lead service lines in community water systems for clean drinking water. An additional $10 million per year increase is being recommended to help cities and counties pay for vital infrastructure needs and local roads. Lastly, the revised budget plan will provide $2,500 in tax credits for the purchase of new electric vehicles.

Bonding Bill Heard on Senate Floor

After the bonding bill passed through the House with bipartisan support, the Senate was unable to pass the bill with the required three-fifths supermajority. Senate Democrats have been able to rely on their single-vote majority to pass most of their legislative priorities this session, but the bonding bill would require seven Republican senators to vote for the bill. No Senate Republicans voted in favor of the bonding bill, making it clear that they won’t support it without corresponding tax cuts.

Universal School Meals Bill Advances

This week, the Senate passed the bill to provide free meals to all students by a vote of 38-26, with 4 Republicans joining all 34 Democrats. The bill funds the cost of providing meals to all students. The estimated cost of the program to the state would be $400 million in a biennium, or around $200 million per year. The Senate made changes to the bill to address potential lost revenue because of the reduction of students filling out meal-subsidy forms, which help determine a district’s compensatory revenue allowance. Compensatory revenue provides extra money to schools with high concentrations of poverty. On Thursday, the House concurred with the Senate’s version of the bill, and it is now headed to Gov. Walz. This is one of the governor’s priorities and he is sure to sign the bill quickly.

Sovereignty Day

Business at the Minnesota legislature paused on Monday for the second-ever Sovereignty Day at the Capitol. After 2019, the event was put on hold due to the pandemic. This year was also the first time the Senate participated. Senators joined members in the House chamber for a day of celebration and recognition of Minnesota’s 11 Sovereign Native American tribal nations. Leaders from each tribal nation used the day to educate the legislature on Minnesota’s tribes and their sovereign rights. They also directly addressed the legislature on their legislative issues. The day began with a drum circle and procession of the 11 tribal flags on the House floor. After speeches from each of the tribal leaders, members attended breakout sessions on important issues.

Legislators Get a Pay Raise

The state’s appointed Legislative Salary Council has approved a 7.25 percent pay raise for the Minnesota Legislature. The council, which votes on the salary for Minnesota lawmakers in March of each odd numbered year, raised the salaries with the hope that this year’s salary increase will attract and retain more candidates, as well as catch up with inflation. Once the raise goes into effect in July, base pay for lawmakers will increase to $51,750, a $3,500 increase from their current pay.

March 13, 2023

Halfway Point of Session

Ewald at the Capitol

Bills Signed into Law

So far, 13 bills have been passed by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Walz:

HF 4 – “Driver’s license for all,” allowing undocumented Minnesotans to get driver’s licenses
HF 28 – Felon voting restored once prison sentence is completed
HF 213 – Emergency food shelf funding
HF 35 – Tying inflation to the budget formula
HF 50 – Easement and state land conveying and leasing requirements modified, state forests added to and deleted from, state parks added to, and sales and conveyances of land authorized
SF 33 – Attorney general funding
HF 7 – Carbon free by 2040
HF 26 – Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding provided, and money appropriated
SF 13 – Juneteenth (June 19) state holiday recognition
HF 1 – Protect Reproductive Options Act; fundamental right to reproductive health established
HF 37 – Race definition modified relating to hair styles and textures within the Minnesota Human Rights Act
SF 40 – Iron ore mining and related industry additional unemployment benefits program establishment
HF 31 – Federal tax conformity

Capital Investment Package Heads to Senate

On Monday, the House passed a $1.9 billion capital investment package. The package includes a $1.5 billion bonding bill, as well as a bill to authorize $393 million cash for construction projects. Both bills passed with broad bipartisan support — but are up for a challenge in the Senate, where Republicans are likely to oppose the borrowing bill if no tax cuts pass. DFL Senators might not be able to rely on their slim majority to pass the bonding bill (which requires a three-fifths majority). While Senate Republicans count on using the bonding bill as a bargaining chip, Senate Democrats say they will proceed with passing a cash-only bill if they fail to meet the supermajority threshold.

March 3, 2023

February Budget Forecast Includes Inflation

Ewald at the Capitol

February Budget Forecast Includes Inflation

On Monday, the Minnesota budget office released the February forecast, providing legislators with information on how much money will be available when crafting the next two-year budget. The $17.6 billion surplus forecast in November shrank slightly, down to $17.5 billion. It’s important to note that the February forecast was calculated with inflation being accounted for in the spending side of the budget. This is due to the recent passage of HF35, which put inflation back into the forecast. Without inflation, the February forecast would show that the budget surplus had grown closer to $19 billion.

First Committee Deadline

The pace of introductions, hearings and passage of bills continues at an unprecedented pace, more than double the average for the past 10 years. The pace of bill introductions is set to slow down after the first committee deadline next week, where committees must act favorably on bills in their house of origin. Committee deadlines are determined by an agreement of both the House and Senate and set restrictions for when committees can hear and decide upon certain types of bills; they are important to keep the legislature on track for the end of session.

Friday, March 10: Committees must act favorably on bills in their house of origin
Friday, March 24: Committees must act favorably on bills that met the first deadline in the other body
Tuesday, April 4 (5 p.m.): Committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills

Renewed Efforts to Change Minnesota’s Flag

A bill to change Minnesota’s State flag is moving along the committee process. The North American Vexillological Association (the world’s largest association of flag experts) ranks Minnesota as one of the worst state flags. The author of the bill, Rep. Mike Freiberg, says the flag’s aesthetics are poor and “genocidal towards Native Americans.”

If passed, HF274 would create a Commission to redesign and replace the current flag and seal by May 11, 2024—Statehood Day. The new design will have to be certified by a 13-member commission including three public members appointed by the governor, plus one appointee from each of the following groups: the Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans, Council on Latino Affairs, Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage; the Dakota community; the Ojibwe community, the secretary of state’s office, Minnesota Historical Society, Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board, and Explore Minnesota Tourism. Four members from the legislature will be non-voting members of the commission.

March 1, 2023

Minnesota Legislature’s Snow Day

Ewald at the Capitol

On Tuesday, the House and Senate passed a joint resolution to recess until Monday, cancelling committee hearings for the rest of the week and floor sessions on Thursday. The decision came after predictions of nearly two feet of snow and high winds that leaders feared would endanger lawmakers, staff, and the public commuting to the Capitol.

Gov. Walz declared a peacetime emergency, authorizing the Minnesota National Guard to help stranded motorists. The total snowfall underperformed expectations. MSP Airport measured 13.4 inches of snow Tuesday through Thursday, although some areas in the Twin Cities measured up to 20 inches. The lighter snowfall will allow plows to clear the roads before the legislature returns to work on Monday, just in time for release of the February Budget Forecast.

Inflation Added to Budget Forecasts

Minnesota is one of the few states that does not include inflation in our budget forecasts. That is all set to change with HF35/SF46. This bill will add inflation to the spending side of budget forecasts. The bill was signed by Gov. Walz this week, effective immediately. This comes just ahead of the February Budget Forecast on Monday, which will tell lawmakers what money is available for the two-year budget due at the end of session.

In 2002, the state was faced with significant budget deficits, so lawmakers removed inflation from the spending side of the state budget forecast to help balance the budget. The Minnesota Legislature just voted to add it back in, with opponents warning that adding inflation will overstate how much money government programs need to operate. If inflation was included in the most recent budget forecast in December, an extra $1.5 billion would be factored in for government costs.

“Driver’s License for All” Bill Passes Legislature

Before adjourning for the week, the Senate passed a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver’s license. The bill passed 34-31 early Wednesday morning following seven hours of debate on the Senate floor. This bill, known as “driver’s licenses for all,” would remove the 2003 rule implemented by Gov. Pawlenty requiring applicants to show proof of legal U.S. residency to obtain a driver’s license.

Proponents of the bill argued that allowing undocumented immigrants to take driver’s education and obtain driver’s licenses will make the roads safer. Opponents worried that driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants would increase illegal immigration and the risk of voter fraud. The bill now heads to Gov. Walz, who said he will sign it.

Voting Restoration Bill Passes Legislature

Minnesota law currently allows felons who have completed all or parts of their sentence and who are paroled or on probation to vote. Recent attempts to challenge the constitutionality of the law in the state Supreme Court failed, with the judges upholding the current law 6-1 and deferring to the Minnesota Legislature to decide whether felons should be barred from voting.

The voting rights restoration bill (HF28) as passed by the Senate Tuesday night (in the same floor session as driver’s licenses for all) would overturn the current law, allowing felons to vote upon leaving jail or prison. Gov. Walz has said he will sign the bill.