Introduction With the conclusion of the August 9 primary, the DFL and Republican ballots are set for the November 8 general election. Every constitutional officer and all 201 seats in legislature will be on the ballot along with the eight congressional seats. Constitutional Officers The primary results for the constitutional officers are in the chart ...
Tick… Pursuant to the State Constitution, the legislature may not pass legislation after midnight on Sunday, May 22. Impacting the time pressure as well are the state party conventions. Republicans are meeting in Rochester now (Friday and Saturday), bringing an early end to legislative activity this week. The DFL State Convention is next weekend, also ...
A Race to the Finish There are just over two weeks left in the 2022 Minnesota legislative session. The state constitution requires that the legislature adjourn on May 23. The Governor has said he will not call a special session if the legislature doesn’t finish its work. The Big Bills and the Little Bills This ...
It’s a Big Deal Yesterday, legislative leaders announced they had a deal on the replenishment of the unemployment insurance trust fund and frontline worker bonus pay. The deal was approved by a conference committee late Thursday night, and is expected to be passed by both the Senate and House of Representatives on Friday. Governor Tim ...
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 ...
Legislative Break Begins While much was happening at the Capitol this week, many legislators and lobbyists alike had one foot out the door in anticipation of the annual Easter/Passover break. This year’s break extends from Saturday, April 9 through Monday, April 18. The legislature will resume work on Tuesday, April 19. At that point, there ...
Time Marches On We are two months into session, with merely seven weeks remaining (including a week-long break). After next week, the Legislature will go on break until April 19. When they return, nearly all committee work will be done, and action will shift to the floor as both the House and Senate pass various ...
Budget Targets Released, But Not to Public Finance committees in both the House and Senate have been provided budget targets for their respective omnibus finance bills. Unlike most years, these targets have not been released to the public. During biennial budget years (which occur in odd-numbered years), budget targets are required to be public, but ...
Updated Supplemental Budget Following the news that Minnesota’s projected budget surplus grew substantially in recent months, Governor Tim Walz released an updated supplemental budget proposal on Thursday. Notably, his proposal to issue one-time “Walz checks” grew by more than $1.3 billion, with checks in the amount of $500 per adult. Republicans continue to oppose this ...
Senate Announces No Budget Targets Senate Finance Chair Julie Rosen announced in committee this week that the Senate will not be having budget targets. Typically budget targets are formally adopted, and then all legislation with a fiscal impact that is passed must balance within the overall target. The lack of a budget target does not ...
The biggest political news of the week came on Monday with the release of the February budget forecast. Any budget changes the Legislature makes must be based on this forecast. Due to its significance, this week’s Top Five is fully dedicated to the updated forecast and brought to you by former Minnesota Management and Budget ...
Retirements Galore Following last week’s release of new election maps, many more legislators have announced that they will not seek re-election. The repercussions are most notable in the Senate. For example, six of the ten members of the Senate Finance Committee have announced their retirement, including all five women who serve on the powerful committee. ...