Friends and Neighbors,
We’re in the final week of the legislative session, and at this point, it’s clear we will not finish on time. Under the Minnesota Constitution, we are required to adjourn by May 19. That deadline is fast approaching, and we just received our universal budget targets yesterday. There is still a lot to do by the end of the day, Monday.
Let’s not forget how we got here. For starters, Democrats refused to show up for work for almost a month at the beginning of session, while still collecting their taxpayer-funded paychecks. That’s 23 days we could have been negotiating the budget, holding committee hearings, and passing bills. Now, with just three days to go and many bills to pass, those 23 days are looking more important than ever. However, other incidents have also caused major delays, such as Democrats walking away from bipartisan bill agreements that were signed by both the Republican and Democrat committee chairs. Education, for instance, was agreed to, signed, and passed two committees before they walked away from the bill.
Fortunately, the Governor and Speaker Demuth were able to come to an agreement yesterday on our joint budget targets, providing conference committees the framework they need to finalize work on their bills. This includes my committee’s bill for Veterans Affairs. We met today to make final adjustments to the bill and align the Senate and House language. It’s likely the bill will be coming up for a floor debate and final passage this weekend.
The budget targets in general include a lot of really good wins, but the most important one is that no Minnesota family will see a tax increase this year. This is a win for families across the state, especially after the DFL hit us all with $10 billion in new taxes, the largest increase in state history, just last biennium.
Looking Ahead
- Our Veterans Affairs bill is likely to receive a floor vote sometime this weekend.
- We will be working through the weekend to finalize work on as many bills as possible, likely going until 11:59 PM on Monday, which is the last day of the regular session.
- Special session is likely to be called by the governor soon after.
With no time left, there is little doubt that special session will be happening this year. My hope is that we can get much of our work done over the weekend. Currently, however, things are changing quickly and often, so it’s difficult to give exact details or information on bills or what special session will look like. As we progress and things become clearer, I’ll be sure to keep you all in the loop.
Have a good weekend!