Minnesota Government

November 8, 2024

Ewald at the Capitol: Election Updates

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Ewald at the Capitol – November 8, 2024

ELECTION UPDATES

On Tuesday, November 5, voters went to the polls to elect President and Vice President, Members of Congress, and the Minnesota House of Representatives, including one special state Senate election.

Along with the Presidency, Republicans were able to gain a majority in the U.S. Senate by flipping key seats in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Montana and Ohio. Several seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are still too close to call. Republicans came into the election with a 220-212 majority in the House.

While attention was mainly focused on the presidency, we are closely watching the state legislative races.

This year, Minnesotans voted on races in the Minnesota House of Representatives and one seat in the Minnesota Senate (District 45), which was a special election to replace retiring Sen. Kelly Morrison, who stepped down to run for Congress.

This was an extremely important race for both parties, with Republicans hoping to flip both houses. Coming into the election, Minnesota already had a unique legislative dynamic, with Democrats having a trifecta holding the Governorship, the Minnesota Senate with a 34-33 majority, and the Minnesota House with a 70-64 majority.

Democrats ultimately were able to keep control of the Senate with DFL Senator-elect Ann Johnson Stewart winning 52% of the vote. Meanwhile, House Republicans needed to win four seats to take control — they managed to win three. Republicans won vacant seats in districts 26A and 7B (both previously held by DFLers), and in 18A newcomer Erica Schwartz defeated incumbent DFLer Jeff Brand. This brought a 67-67 tie between the parties.

State law dictates that when a state legislative candidate wins by less than 0.5%, there is a publicly funded recount in that race. So, two races are automatically headed to a recount due to being too close to call. In District 14B, Democrat Dan Wolgamott won reelection by 28 votes, while in District 54A, Democrat Brad Tabke won reelection by 13 votes.

What if there is a 67-67 tie? The last time this occurred in Minnesota was in 1979 — we had a peanut farmer in the White House and the number one movie in January 1979 was a re-release of Disney’s 101 Dalmatians. The Minnesota Secretary of State is charged with gaveling in a new House, and so that year, Secretary of State Joan Growe, acting as temporary presiding officer, presided over the tied body to perform basic business — but she could not name committee chairs or set committees. After five days, an agreement was reached where the Republicans would get the speakership and the DFL would chair the rules, taxes, and appropriations committees and get one vote majorities on those committees. Bills that got to the House floor almost always had bipartisan support, and members rarely missed committee meetings or floor sessions. But as with all stories that start off easy, the end gets a little more colorful. If you’d like to learn more on the whole story, you can find it here.

HELPFUL RESOURCES

A few helpful links to follow the election and other action at the State Capitol:

To find your legislators, visit Who Represents Me

To view and/or keep up with election results, visit The Secretary of State’s Website

August 9, 2024

Ewald at the Capitol: New Laws Go into Effect

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Ewald at the Capitol – August 9, 2024

NEW LAWS NOW IN EFFECT

Effective dates for laws passed during a legislative session vary. Some are specified to be effective immediately once a bill is signed by the governor. Most budget bills take effect July 1 to coincide with the start of the new fiscal year and most bills without an effective date take effect August 1.

Some new laws that took effect on August 1 include:

Harsher penalty for “swatting” — Swatting is the act of faking an emergency aimed at sending law enforcement to the home of a target. The bill passed last session raises swatting from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Child passenger laws — Children under 13 must be transported in the rear seat of a motor vehicle, where available. In addition, children under the age of 13 are also required to use a child passenger restraint system or booster seat secured with a safety belt.
New penalties for straw purchases and guns — Straw purchases are when one party purchases a firearm for another party who is ineligible to purchase or possess one. Under the new provisions, the penalty for such an action increases from a misdemeanor to a felony.
New Compliance Obligations for Employers — These include new provisions related to employee wages and earnings such as:
- While the new paid family and medical leave law will not take effect until January 1, 2026, starting on August 1, 2024, pregnant workers can take prenatal medical leave without counting against their twelve weeks of parental leave. Additionally, employers must offer the same health benefits during pregnancy and parental leave, contributing to the health benefits as if the employee were working.
- Employers now need to pay workers the full amount of tips received by card or electronic payment, rather than subtracting a swipe fee first.
- Employers now have to keep pay stubs for at least three years.
Rights for Parents with Disabilities — Prohibits a court from denying a prospective adoptive parent the ability to proceed with an adoption due to the prospective parent’s disability.

These are just some of the many laws that took effect as of August 1. For all new laws taking effect, you can view a more complete list here.

ELECTION UPDATES

On August 8, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate and candidate for Vice President. This marks the first time since 1984 that a Minnesotan has been on a presidential ticket. The announcement came just two weeks after Vice President Harris announced her candidacy for president.

If the Harris/Walz ticket wins in November, the following would take place:

Gov. Walz would resign to take on the role of Vice President of the United States.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan would then immediately be sworn in as Minnesota’s governor.
The most recent President of the Minnesota Senate (Sen. Bobby Joe Champion – DFL, Minneapolis) would in turn become the new Lieutenant Governor.

Some additional considerations:

At the beginning of the legislative session on January 14, 2025, the Senate must elect a president of the senate as they organize themselves for the new biennium. It could be Sen. Champion, but it could be another member.
A special election could change the majority in the Minnesota Senate — right now, with Sen. Kelly Morrison having resigned her seat to run for Congress, the Senate is tied 33/33.
There is precedent where the President of the Senate does not resign their seat — Michelle Fischbach held both positions until the end of the legislative session in 2018. It is unclear whether Sen. Champion would follow that same pattern.

You can also see this interview with Minnesota Senate President Bobby Joe Championwhere he laid out what would happen if Gov. Walz wins and assumes the position of Vice President.

As a reminder, voters will head to the polls in November to vote for several races — including President, U.S. Senator for Minnesota, all 8 members of Minnesota’s U.S. House of Representatives delegation, and all 134 Minnesota House of Representatives districts. The Minnesota state senate is not up for election this year, but a special election will be held in Senate District 45, where Kelly Morrison resigned the state senate to run for U.S. Congress in the Third Congressional district.

Some important election dates to remember:

June 28–August 12: Vote early by mail or in person for the August 13 primary elections

August 13: Primary Election Day

September 20 through November 5: Vote by mail or in person

November 5: Election Day

For more voting information such as how to vote, where to vote, and other questions you may have you can visit the Secretary of State’s website here.

The Ewald Consulting Government Relations team has compiled a list of candidate filings. To find more detailed information in the races up for election, you can visit this candidate filings list.

June 24, 2024

Legislative & Budget Update

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LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

While the legislature adjourned one month ago, interim committees, councils, and task forces are meeting. The Senate Ethics Committee, which has been called to address a complaint against Sen. Nicole Mitchell (Woodbury) met briefly on June 12 and took no action against the complaint — they will meet July 25 after Sen. Mitchell has had her first appearance in court on first-degree burglary charges.

BUDGET UPDATES

A revenue update from Minnesota Management and Budget found that net general fund revenues in May totaled 16.7% more than forecast. Net general fund revenues totaled $2.1 billion in May, $304 million more than previously expected. Net receipts from all major tax types were above what state economic officials predicted. A more complete report covering April, May and June receipts will be issued in July.

See the report here .

LEGISLATIVE AUDIT REPORTS

Over the last week, the Office of the Legislative Auditor released two reports: a performance audit on the Minnesota Frontline Worker Pay Program and a special review on the Minnesota Department of Education’s Oversight of Feeding Our Future.

The 120-page audit report on the Minnesota Department of Education’s (MDE) management of the Feeding Our Future child nutrition program found there was inadequate oversight of the program by MDE, which “created opportunities for fraud.” The report detailed that the department inadequately validated its food program and did not follow up on complaints against it — such as operating sites without property owners’ permissions, running messy and unorganized food-distribution processes, and the lack of organizational structure in the nonprofit. The report also included a list of recommendations which included but were not limited to:

The establishment of criteria in statute or giving MDE the authority to conduct rulemaking to establish criteria that the department must consider when determining whether to approve organizations for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) or Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).
The need for MDE take additional steps to verify information provided in support of sponsorship applications submitted by high-risk applicants.
The need for MDE to conduct follow-up reviews, as needed, to ensure sponsors fully implement corrective action plans that result from administrative reviews.
The need for MDE to place a greater emphasis on program integrity and risk-based monitoring if oversight requirements are waived again in the future.
Prioritizing independent fact-finding in response to complaints.

Read the full report here.

The report on the Minnesota Frontline Worker Pay Program concluded that the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), did not comply with requirements for the program regarding payments to ineligible individuals and the Department of Revenue did not verify adjusted gross income for all applicants. The $487.45 payout was distributed to about 1 million Minnesotans — 40% of whom did not have their eligibility confirmed (note: according to the State Auditor, this does not mean that 40% were ineligible; the audit just could not confirm their eligibility). The report made a recommendation for the legislature to consider the amount of risk the state is willing to accept when establishing programs quickly and with eligibility conditions that rely on self-attestation. The office also made recommendations for the state to recoup any funds given to people who were not eligible, and/or used the identity of others to apply for funds.

Read the full report here.

ELECTION UPDATES

This year, voters will head to the polls to vote for several races, including President, U.S. Senator for Minnesota, all 8 members of Minnesota’s U.S. House of Representatives delegation, and all 134 Minnesota House of Representatives districts. The Minnesota state senate is not up for election this year, but there will be a special election held for senate district 45, with the departure of Senator Kelly Morrison who is running for U.S Congress in the third congressional district and has resigned from the state senate.

Some important election dates to remember:

May 15: Applications for absentee ballots opened
June 28: Vote by mail or in person begins for the August 13 primary elections
August 13: Primary Election Day
September 20 through November 5: Vote by mail or in person
October 15: Deadline for advanced voter registration
November 5: Election Day

For more voting information (such as how to vote, where to vote, and other questions you may have), visit the Secretary of State’s website.

The Ewald Consulting Government Relations team has compiled a list of state representative races, but to find more detailed information in the races up for election you can visit candidate filings list.

HELPFUL RESOURCES

A few helpful links to follow the action at the State Capitol:

To find your legislators, visit Who Represents Me

For updates on activities at the House of Representatives,
visit the House Session Daily website.

For updates on activities at the Senate, visit Senate Media Services.

For House Committee and Floor Session Video,
visit the House of Representatives YouTube Channel.

For Senate Committee and Floor Session Video, visit the Senate YouTube Channel.

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October 20, 2023

Minnesota Budget Surplus Continues, Minnesota State Flag, and More

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Minnesota Budget Surplus Continues

The Department of Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) announced that the state’s budget surplus is estimated to exceed initial projections made earlier this year by nearly 50 percent, resulting in a fiscal year-end surplus of over $2.4 billion ($820 million over the initial $1.6 billion estimate). This remarkable development follows the MMB’s quarterly update, which disclosed that tax collections had outperformed projections by $400 million. The surplus is primarily attributed to strong tax collections of Individual income and corporate franchise taxes, with slightly reduced projected spending. The exact size of the surplus will not be determined until February or March, but it will carry over into the next budget cycle.

This surplus builds on the trend of increased funds for Minnesota. The historic $17.5 billion surplus for the 2023-2024 biennium was largely allocated during the 2023 legislative session’s budget-setting process. With the additional funds, lawmakers are anticipated to take up a supplemental budget bill and a capital investment (bonding) bill in 2024.

Minnesota State Flag

The deadline for design submissions to replace the current State flag and seal is October 30. Minnesotans have submitted more than 775 entries after a call for public submissions by the State Emblems Redesign Commission.

The commission consists of historians, marketing experts, civic leaders, and was formed to redesign the current flag which has been criticized for being culturally insensitive as well as aesthetically unappealing. The North American Vexillological Association (the world’s largest association of flag experts) ranks Minnesota as one of the worst state flags.

The commission will choose five finalists in November, manufacturing their flag and seal designs for a “tactile assessment.” Applicants must be at least 18 years old, and their original designs must meet state requirements. The winning designers are not eligible for a cash prize if their design is chosen. The emblems will be selected in mid-December and will come into effect next year unless vetoed by the Legislature.