We have rounded the bend and reached the final stretch at the Legislature. Under the Minnesota constitution approval of any bill must be completed by midnight Sunday, so the legislature can adjourn on Monday the 23rd. That said, things are heating up, not winding down, as we enter the final days. As has been mentioned in previous posts, the top three priorities for the session are the bonding bill, the tax bill and the supplemental budget bill. As of now, none have passed to the Governor’s desk. Each priority finds itself in a different spot:
- The DFL and GOP bonding bills, which require a 3/5 vote to pass, have failed the Senate and House, respectively. Much of the disagreement centers on how much to spend, geographic distribution of projects and whether or not transit should be included. Nonetheless, most likely, a final compromise bill will be presented and voted on, in the waning hours of Sunday evening.
- The supplemental budget bill continues to be negotiated. The details continue to evolve and will be very much impacted by the contours of the other major priorities.
- The tax bill is in conference committee. Readers will recall that there was no tax bill passed, last year, meaning the conference committee is working its way through provisions from both this and last year’s session. Chair Davids of the House Taxes Committee and Chair Skoe of the Senate Tax Committee are meeting privately to reach consensus.
The final major priority for this session is a comprehensive transportation bill. The House GOP caucus has now rejected two different proposals from the Governor, with differences centering on whether or not to include spending on transit and whether improvements should be funded through an increase in the gas tax or other fees, such as tabs. Conventional wisdom in the halls and back rooms of the Legislature is that there will be no comprehensive transportation bill, although a select list of transit projects will be included in the bonding bill.
Finally, there is the issue of State worker contracts. The House version will reach the floor today. The House version contains several provisions that are opposed by the labor community, relating to political contributions. As we mentioned in a previous post, the Senate has passed a State contracts bill. The House bill is expected to pass, and it will head to a conference committee, this weekend. Those provisions will no doubt be a major source of debate in those discussions. While the State contracts debate has not received much media attention, to date, it will likely be a major news item on Monday morning.
