Legislature’s Final Stretch

Following its traditional ten-day break, the Legislature is back to complete the final leg of the 2022 session. Both the House and Senate resumed both floor sessions and committee action on Tuesday. As expected, activity was primarily focused on the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees, as they continued to pass omnibus budget bills on to the floor. The Senate Finance committee has largely finished its work, though the House Ways and Means committee will still be hearing several omnibus bills next week.

House Adopts Budget Targets

On Tuesday, the House Ways and Means committee adopted a budget resolution, specifying how much spending is allowed within each budget jurisdiction. A spreadsheet was created that provides an easy-to read-document, broken down by budget area, and at times, specific bills. Under the House plan, the total budget would spend more than $7.36 billion of the projected surplus.

Only 4 Weeks Left!?!

The Legislature must adjourn no later than Monday, May 23. That means the Legislature only has four weeks left to finish its business. Expect both the House and Senate to be meeting in floor session every day next week, as they pass omnibus bills. Once a bill has passed both bodies, a conference committee will be set up to work out differences between the bills.

No Special Session on the Horizon

After years of multiple special sessions, Governor Tim Walz said this week that he will not call the legislature back for a special session this year if they fail to reach agreement on issues. It has become commonplace for the Legislature to agree to deals in the waning days of the session and need a little “overtime” to finish its work. Gov. Walz says that won’t happen this year. He also chastised the Legislature for failing to find agreement on issues thus far, notably the replenishment of the unemployment trust fund.

State of the State Sunday

Governor Tim Walz will address a joint meeting of the House and Senate, and the state as a whole, on Sunday evening when he gives his annual State of the State address. The speech is scheduled to take place at 6:00 p.m. Information on previous State of the State addresses, including links to videos, are available through the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.

April 22, 2022