Dear Neighbors, On Monday night, the legislature concluded the regular session. Although several strong budget bills passed and are headed to the Governor for his signature, many important issues are outstanding. Below is a breakdown of what did pass and the work that remains. I am committed to finishing the job – which means passing a balanced budget in a manner that leaves no Minnesotan behind. What passed? Before midnight on Monday we managed to pass several important budget bills. We passed our budgets pertaining to Veterans and Military Affairs, Agriculture, Judiciary and Public Safety, and State Government and Elections. We also passed our Legacy bill funding projects that preserve our environment and arts and cultural heritage, and a pensions bill helping our teachers, firefighters, and police. Within our State Government bill, we passed legislation brought to me by a constituent who is a retired state worker who has recently been diagnosed with ALS. The bill will protect his health care coverage, along with the coverage for his spouse, so that he can be assured to get the quality health care his family needs. We also passed our Housing Budget. It is a good bill, making vital investments that will help prevent family homelessness and build more affordable homes. Our bill prioritizes emergency rental assistance, and also includes $50 million in Housing Infrastructure Bonds, which will build affordable homes to rent and own all across the state. What work remains? Simply put, quite a bit. We still need to pass our K-12 Education budget, as well as our Health and Human Services budgets. Together, this represents more than three quarters of our entire state budget. We also have not passed our budgets for Jobs, Higher Education, and Commerce. Frustratingly, the main obstacle to passing these bills has been House Republicans' insistence on non-budget items that rollback freedoms and protections for workers. As I mentioned in my previous update, Republicans are insisting on ending the opportunity for our undocumented community from accessing MinnesotaCare, despite the fact that it would not save the state any money and actually lead to higher insurance premiums for Minnesotans. They also are trying to cancel Paid Family and Medical Leave before it even has a chance to begin, and want to repeal unemployment insurance for hourly school workers. If Republicans would drop these anti-worker policy demands, we could finish our work and pass a balanced budget. Nevertheless, we will continue to drive toward conclusion on these bills in a manner that protects the hard-fought victories for Minnesota workers who simply want to be left alone by a Republican Party intent on sticking it to them. As this work moves forward, I will be sending regular updates, but please don’t hesitate to reach out with your input and ideas. I am focused on the task at hand: passing a balanced state budget that stands up for workers and makes life more affordable for all of us. In partnership, Michael Howard |