Session has wrapped! The 2023 legislative session concluded with time to spare, adjourning just after 10:00 pm on Monday night. This will be the final Top 5 of the year, but don’t fret: next session will be here before we know it on February 12, 2024. After passing the suite of budget bills this year—plus ...
Final Days of Session: What’s Left? Democrats have now sent all major budget bills to the Governor for signature, with the exception of major packages in transportation, health & human services, taxes, and capital investment. Although Rep. Frank Hornstein (D-Minneapolis) has told media that a new gas tax and a delivery fee (to apply to ...
An Early End to Session? In recent years, the legislature has used up more than its fair share of session days to complete its work, but change may be coming this session. While legislators are not required to adjourn until May 22, the House passed a resolution to adjourn by May 18. Because the Senate ...
Spring Has Finally Sprung Both the weather and the pace of the Legislature have spoken: it is officially spring. Lately, the throng of Capitol lobbyists have congregated around near-daily floor sessions and conference committees, with trips to food trucks for lunch in between. Legislators have begun to cloister themselves in closed-door meetings, making for a ...
Cannabis Takes a Big Step Forward Whew! This week has been a marathon for Capitol watchers. We decided to send today’s update a bit later than usual to accommodate the Senate’s vote on legislation to legalize adult-use recreational cannabis. The bill passed the Senate this afternoon by a vote of 34-33. This follows passage in ...
This is the first post of many to analyze Minnesota’s recreational adult use cannabis legislation. Authors: David M. Aafedt, Gerald H. Fornwald, Peter G. Economou We are within days of adult recreational cannabis officially becoming a law here in the North Star State.[1] Competing bills have woven their way through dozens of committees in both ...
With the Minnesota House passing its version of an adult-use cannabis bill this week, and the Minnesota Senate scheduled to debate—and potentially vote on—its own bill, here are 5 things to keep your eye on. 1. Differences are Narrowing. In their original forms, the House and Senate bills were dramatically different, with some describing the ...
“The State of our State is Strong” Governor Tim Walz delivered his annual State of the State address to legislators from the House chamber this week. He highlighted common themes from DFL leadership this session, including a focus on early childhood support programs, education, free school lunches, and a renewed push for gun legislation, while ...
Omnibus Bills March toward Passage Prior to the legislative break, omnibus budget bills concluded their committee paths. A handful have already been voted on by their chambers of origin. Most bills have substantial differences between House and Senate versions that will need to be resolved either by additional floor votes or conference committees. Committees Wrapping…with ...
Budget Bills Roll Out Many House and Senate omnibus budget bills rolled out this week with a flurry of committee hearings, during which legislators walked through each bill, took testimony from the public, and made amendments. The full text of each omnibus bill, as well as spreadsheets outlining the expenditures on each provision, are posted ...
Leadership Releases Global Budget Targets On Tuesday, the Governor, House Speaker, and Senate Majority Leader announced they had reached an agreement on global budget targets, adding up to $71.9 million in spending for the biennium. Chairs of each finance committee now have specific dollar amounts that their finance bills must add up to, and they ...
The Minnesota Legislature has been very busy this session, with an especially heightened amount of activity relating to housing; numerous bills have been introduced that would have a major impact on both market-rate and affordable housing in Minnesota if enacted. Our team is constantly monitoring the progress of these pieces of legislation as they make ...