The Minnesota Legislature is nearing the halfway mark of session. With the first policy deadline only two weeks away, House and Senate committees have accelerated bill hearings and have added evening meetings. On Thursday,...more
The unveiling of Governor Walz’s biennial budget dominated conversations at the Minnesota Legislature this week. Governor Walz’s first budget contains significant tax and spending proposals that were cautiously embraced by...more
This was an eventful week in Minnesota politics and at the Legislature. On Sunday, at an outdoor rally during a snowstorm on Sunday, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) announced her candidacy for the Democratic presidential...more
With the first week of February over, legislative committees continued to hear and process bills. To date both bodies of the Legislature have introduced nearly 1,000 bills. On Thursday, the House passed House Concurrent...more
Despite the extreme weather, the Legislature remained open and held hearings all week. Bills were scheduled and started moving through committees in both the House and Senate. Legislators were busy meeting with stakeholders...more
The Minnesota Legislature has moved into full swing, as a number of Senate and House committees have started hearing bills this week. Legislators also continue informational hearings to familiarize themselves with state...more
Policy committees in both the House and Senate began holding hearings this week. Most of these were issue overviews from staff and agencies. Bill hearings are expected to be scheduled starting next week. The University of...more
On Monday, Congressman Tim Walz (DFL) was sworn in as Minnesota’s 41st Governor. In his inaugural address, he stuck to many of his familiar campaign topics, especially education. He emphasized how he and the legislature must...more
On Tuesday, January 8, the Minnesota Legislature reconvenes for its 91st biennial session. There is hope for a fresh start after last year’s contentious session where the House Republican majority clashed frequently with...more
When the Minnesota Legislature convened in February, the state had just announced a modest budget surplus. Lawmakers and Governor Mark Dayton were optimistic that they could reach agreement on a capital investment bill, a tax...more
5/29/2018
/ Budget Surplus ,
Constitutional Amendment ,
Governor Dayton ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pension Reform ,
Sales Tax ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Reform
With 16 days left in the session, the Minnesota Legislature and Governor Dayton are turning their attention to reaching agreements on tax, bonding and supplemental budget bills. The House passed the last in a series of...more
With three weeks left of session, lawmakers have picked up the pace to get their work done. On Thursday, the Senate passed their supplemental budget bill off the Senate Floor and the House passed the education portion of...more
The Minnesota House and Senate spent most of this week moving omnibus finance bills through committee. Committees held day and evening meetings to allow time for public testimony and amendments and to ensure that the third...more
The Minnesota Legislature, returning from Easter/Passover break, turned its attention to assembling omnibus supplemental budgets. With the third committee deadline approaching, the Legislature has one week to assemble these...more
The Capitol building is quiet today as legislators begin their 10-day recess after working around the clock to meet the second committee deadline (March 29), which required that all policy bills be passed out of committees...more
The Minnesota Legislature’s first committee deadline came and went yesterday, with policy bills needing to clear all policy committees in either the House or Senate by midnight to remain viable. Most committees met in regular...more
The Legislature wrapped up the fourth week of a 13-week session. With one week until the first committee deadline, committees in both bodies have kept busy hearing policy bills, often into the evening. Bill introductions in...more
The Minnesota Legislature, in anticipation of the first committee deadline on March 22, continued to hear and move bills through policy committees this week. Legislative committees focused on Governor Dayton’s request for $10...more
The 2018 Legislative Session kicked off last week on February 20 with the swearing in of one new member in the Senate, Karla Bigham (DFL, Cottage Grove), and one new member in the House, Jeremy Munson (R, Lake Crystal). The...more
The 2018 Legislative Session begins next week, on Tuesday, February 20. If the interim was any indication, this session is likely to be challenging and fraught with controversy.
At the end of last session, Governor Mark...more
On Tuesday, December 5, the office of Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released the November Budget and Economic Forecast. Based on the forecast, the state is facing a projected budget deficit of $188 million for the...more
In a decision issued yesterday, the Minnesota Supreme Court concluded that Governor Dayton’s line-item vetoes of the operating appropriations for the Minnesota Senate and House of Representatives did not violate a Governor’s...more
Following the adjournment of the 2017 regular session and a short special session, the Legislature passed and presented to Governor Dayton a comprehensive and balanced budget for fiscal years 2018 and 2019, including nine...more
On May 30, three days following the adjournment of the 2017 First Special Session, Governor Mark Dayton signed all budget bills, the tax bill and a bonding bill to conclude the work of the 2017 Minnesota Legislature —...more
The Legislature adjourned the Special Session early the morning of Friday, May 26, after adopting spending bills, a tax bill and a bonding bill.
Governor Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders spent the final...more