The possibility of pesticides spreading PFAS across Minnesota and permeating soil, water and food has captured the attention of DFLers who control the state Legislature. And it’s behind a new effort to regulate the products.
It would seem that DFL control of the House, Senate and governor’s office would improve chances for an early finish. But as one longtime observer points out, “Nobody fights like family.”
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, said that more attention to the issue was sparked when Native women won election to decision-making roles.
Both were priorities of DFL leaders including Gov. Tim Walz, and Democrats hold narrow majorities in the House and Senate. Republicans appear united in opposition, so all DFL senators would need to support the measures. It’s been unclear for months if the party has enough votes.
Although decades ago the THC content of weed was commonly less than 1.5%, some products on the market today are more than 90% THC.
The tax hike, which would raise $200 million a year for housing projects and programs in the seven-county area, is part of a $1 billion investment in affordability that sponsors and advocates are calling historic. It would be the first-ever tax dedicated to affordable housing.
Legislators agreed to a moratorium last week as they hashed out differences between major environmental bills passed earlier this year by the House and Senate.
With two DFL senators opposed to legalized sports betting, sponsors have tried to get a few Republicans on board. It’s a tough sell without support from the horse racing tracks.
The governor has cited disturbing test scores — 58% reading proficiency for white students in Minnesota, with a 30-percentage-point disparity between white students and some racial groups — in arguing that the state must transform reading curricula used in Minnesota schools.
Using more lottery money would mean less cash to use on other priorities. A DFL legislator said her leadership couldn’t agree where that additional money would come from.
Even as Democrats coalesce around a series of tax cuts and credits, the child care credit is one of a few significant differences the House and Senate will need to reconcile. It’s also one of few major DFL tax plans to benefit middle class residents.
A proposal earlier in the legislative session called for stateside ranked choice voting in time for the 2026 election. What’s still alive now is a task force that would consider it among a variety of election issues.
Experts say Minnesota would be the only state to adopt a measure targeting corporations that have subsidiaries overseas.
Democrats are resting their hopes on just two gun bills. But do they have the votes?
House and Senate leaders also agree on a partial rollback of the state’s tax on Social Security benefits.
DFL Senate leaders say they are mostly aligned with DFL House leaders on the size of the Social Security tax cut.
Senate DFLers are touting their new proposal as more “elegant” than a House proposal to require 10% of the vote on a statewide ballot to achieve “major party” status.
At each committee stop, a small group of people representing themselves or organizations like the trucking industry, traffic safety watchdogs, law enforcement, addiction advocates, and religious groups squeeze in concerns among the more-numerous supporters.
It was an unusually public last-minute change, and it drew discontent and disappointment from many Democrats.
“Here in Minnesota, when we talk about freedom, we talk about having your children be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in their schools,” Walz said during his State of the State speech.
