No Committee Deadlines

While House and Senate committees met and heard a variety of policy and spending bills this past week, legislative leaders again failed to agree on setting committee deadlines. DFL leaders have been advocating for later deadlines because they expect the House DFL to return to parity with the House Republicans after the March 11 Special Election in House District 40B. With House Republicans currently in control, very few DFL bills are being heard and later deadlines will allow more DFL hearings. As expected, House Republicans oppose this and support earlier deadlines.

House Energy Committees Redefines Carbon-Free

On Tuesday, the House Energy Finance and Policy Committee heard H.F. 249, a bill which would redefine the definition of carbon-free to include woody biomass. Woody biomass is wood and other woody plant material that can be used as a renewable energy source. The bill was authored by Representative Spencer Igo (R-Wabana Township) and would give utilities another method to generate or procure energy to meet the 100 percent carbon-free energy mandate by 2040. H.F. 249 passed and was sent to the House Floor.

Data Center Tax Exemption Bills Heard

Both the House and Senate Tax Committees heard data center tax exemption bills this week. Senator Grant Hauschild’s (DFL-Hermantown) S.F. 769 was heard on Tuesday and the House version of the bill, H.F. 1277, was authored by Tax Chair Greg Davids (R-Preston) and heard on Thursday. Both versions of this bill would extend the data center tax exemption indefinitely and  transition the credit to a front-end credit. Business groups and labor trade groups testified in favor of the bill in both bodies while MAPE, Clean Water Action, Isaiah, Vote Solar, and the Sierra Club all vigorously opposed the bills. The Department of Revenue estimated that the tax exemption would cost $20 million. Both bills were laid over for possible inclusion in their respective Omnibus Tax Bills.

House Republicans Continue Focus of Waste, Fraud and Abuse

Throughout the 2024 campaign season, House Republicans were talking about waste, fraud and abuse in state government. The issue was a key component to their electoral success in ending the DFL trifecta that had been in place last biennium. Now, Republicans are continuing to keep focus on the issue. In the power sharing agreement between House Republicans and DFLers, the single committee that will not be co-chaired is the Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy committee, chaired by Kristin Robbins (R-Maple Grove). Further H.F. 1 (Rep. Patti Anderson, R-Dellwood), which would create a new Office of the Inspector General, has been quickly moving through the committee process, already receiving hearings in four separate committees. Don’t be surprised if this bill makes it to the floor soon.

Paid Family and Medical Leave Changes?

Republicans have also been focused on “fixing” various new laws that were passed during the last legislative session, most notably the state’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave program. The program is set to start on January 1, 2026, though H.F. 11 (Rep. Dave Baker, R-Willmar) would delay implementation by a year. The legislation is scheduled for its final committee stop before the floor on Monday, March 3. In addition to the delayed implementation timeline, Republicans are seeking several other changes including definition changes and exemptions. Despite the Republicans efforts, it is unlikely that Democrats will agree to any significant changes.

February 28, 2025