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 ...
House and Senate Hold Joint Tribal Sovereignty Day On Monday, many committee meetings and other official items of business were halted to allow the House and Senate to hold a joint session dedicated to government-to-government relations. Legislators participated in a day of learning and socializing with tribal officials, dignitaries, and leaders from the 11 sovereign ...
First Legislative Deadline Today marks the first deadline that legislation must meet in order to be considered this session. By today, bills must be heard in committee in their chamber of origin (this deadline generally does not apply to finance bills). As a result, this past week has been a flurry of committee activity, with ...
February Budget Forecast This week, Minnesota Management and Budget released their February budget forecast, which is the last projection of state revenues and expenditures that the Governor and legislature will use to help them craft their budget bills. This forecast is the first to incorporate projected inflationary costs, and shows a stable outlook with a ...
In this edition of WIT AND WISDOM OF WINTHROP, our Employment Litigation Newsletter, we shine a spotlight on privacy in the hiring process – which has become even more complicated with the expansion of the remote workforce and remote recruiting, as well as new laws protecting the privacy of employees, contractors, and even job applicants. ...
February Forecast The Governor and Department of Management and Budget will release the state’s February Budget and Economic Forecast on Monday. This updated projection of state revenues and expenditures will be used by legislative leadership to calculate budget targets. Bonding Bills Released Over the past week, both the House and Senate Capital Investment committees released ...
Earned Sick & Safe Time After hours of lively debate Thursday afternoon and evening, the Earned Sick & Safe Time bill, H.F. 19 (Rep. Liz Olson, DFL-Duluth), was passed off of the House floor with two amendments. The bill would allow nearly all employees in the state to accrue up to 48 hours of sick ...
Free School Lunch Thursday night, the House passed a bill (HF5) to provide free breakfast and lunch in schools to all K-12 students. The bill, which has a price tag of about $200 million, now heads to the Senate for a vote, where it is likely to pass. The Governor included this proposal in his ...
Clean Energy Last week, the House passed the bill requiring Minnesota utilities to transition to 100% carbon-free energy production by the year 2040, and sent it to the Senate. The Senate debated the legislation Thursday and passed it off of the floor without amendments, and will send it to the Governor for signature within the ...
Walz’s Budget On Tuesday, Governor Tim Walz rolled out his full, $65 billion budget. Under the proposal, all but about $1.3 billion of the surplus would be spent, and two tax increases would be enacted: a 1/8 cent sales tax hike in the metro and a raise on taxes on large capital gains. Governor Walz ...
Governor’s Budget Rollout This week, Governor Walz began rolling out key features of his proposed budget with two press conferences focused on investments in economic and children and families initiatives. The $12 billion children and families proposal includes investments in child care tax credits, school lunches, and school funding, while the economic proposal, totaling $4.1 ...
Driver’s Licenses for All In 2003, the Legislature passed a law requiring Minnesotans to show proof of legal residence in the United States in order to obtain a driver’s license. This year, a bill has been introduced that would make a change to allow driver’s licenses and state ID cards to be obtained by all ...