Peter Callaghan covers state government for MinnPost. Follow him on Twitter or email him at pcallaghan(at)minnpost(dot)com.
Gov. Tim Walz’s threat that he would not call a special session may have served as a catalyst for action, but in the end, it didn’t push lawmakers toward success — and may not have actually been true.
The tax bill is a major part of a so-called “4-4-4” deal to spend $4 billion of Minnesota’s historic surplus over the next three years on tax cuts, $4 billion on new spending and leave $4 billion remaining in reserves.
Due to a lack of contested races, the party’s state convention was sparsely attended and tepid in tone. It took all of six minutes for delegates to nominate and endorse both Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan by acclamation.
House Commerce Committee Chair Zack Stephenson, who has been in the middle of both issues, said he is not giving up on the gambling legislation — and is ecstatic about the proposed liquor law changes.
Not since 1994 has a non-endorsed GOP candidate won Minnesota’s Republicans primary, which means candidates must cater to the most active and conservative party members — the 2,000 delegates who show up at the state convention.
Unlike previous deals struck by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller, the agreement announced Monday puts the onus on committee chairs at the Legislature to work out many of the details.
Jensen, a one-term Minnesota state senator and family doctor who rose to national prominence as a critic of COVID-19 restrictions, prevailed over four other Republican candidates.
The Republican convention is set to endorse a candidate for governor on Saturday.
The purpose is to help move people out of homeless shelters and to help transition people being released from treatment facilities.
Some lawmakers argue that Minnesota’s taxation of Social Security benefits contributes to retiree flight to states like Arizona and Florida.
The push comes in response to the 2020 election, when Republican operatives recruited candidates to file for office under the banner of one of the state’s two marijuana parties — moves that likely siphoned votes away from some DFLers.
The deal appropriates $500 million to distribute bonuses to up to 667,000 frontline pandemic workers in Minnesota. But it also spends $2.7 billion to repay a federal loan and refill the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund.
The Minnesota Supreme Court has found that the state Constitution provides a right to abortion, but that could be reversed either by a future court or via a constitutional amendment.
On Thursday, Senate Leader Jeremy Miller took commissioner confirmations off the table for the rest of the 2022 regular session, which is set to end on May 23.
Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller confirmed the deal at the MinnPost Festival on Thursday morning.
For the first time since 2003, a bill has been introduced that would ask Minnesota voters to remove a 120-day limit and required May adjournment date from the state’s Constitution.
Complaining about the trend is often the domain of those in the minority party. Yet there are examples of unhappiness even among those members in the majority in the House and Senate.
Senate Republicans have been critical of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, which operated RentHelpMN, the nearly $600 million federally funded rental assistance program along with the larger counties in the state.
The governor used his to argue that the state is succeeding — but that his legislative agenda is needed to keep things that way.
One group especially unhappy with the proposals: grocery and convenience stores, which were not only left out of negotiations that led to the latest efforts around changing liquor laws, but would also not have a place on the new advisory council.
