The start of the legislative session is right around the corner. The House and Senate will convene on Tuesday, February 11, 2020. The Senate DFL elected Sen. Susan Kent (DFL-Woodbury) as their new minority leader on February...more
During a series of press events over the last week, Governor Tim Walz (DFL) released his $2.028 billion capital budget proposal. Dubbed the “Local Jobs and Project Plan,” the Governor’s proposal prioritized affordable...more
Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released its November Economic Budget Forecast on December 5, 2019. This forecast shows an improved economic outlook compared to the end of the 2019 legislative session and projects an...more
Last week, the Minnesota House of Representatives held a three day “mini-session” in the Minnesota communities of Rochester, Austin, Winona, and the surrounding area. It was the first mini-session — which were much more...more
The 91st biennial session of the Minnesota Legislature convened on Tuesday, January 8, 2019, with a newly elected DFL Governor, former Congressman Tim Walz, and the only divided Legislature in the nation. The DFL also...more
5/31/2019
/ GILTI tax ,
Health Care Providers ,
Opioid ,
Paid Leave ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Preemption ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Sales Tax ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Transportation Industry ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft
With 10 days to go until the Minnesota Legislature must adjourn, budget negotiations between Governor Walz and House and Senate leadership have stalled. In turn, the work of conference committees, who need agreed-to budget...more
The end of the legislative session looms with a little over two weeks for the Minnesota Legislature to pass the state’s biennial budget. Wednesday marked the first of three leadership-imposed deadlines aimed at keeping the...more
Lawmakers returned from the Easter/Passover Break on Tuesday and immediately got to work moving omnibus finance bills off the House and Senate floor and into conference committees. Several omnibus bills were passed off the...more
This week marked the third and final committee deadline for the Minnesota Legislature, requiring committees in both the DFL-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate to act on major finance and appropriation bills....more
This week, House finance committees unveiled and passed DFL proposals to fund state government over the next biennium. Because of the lack of movement in the Senate on key House policy priorities, finance bills also became...more
Today’s second policy deadline had legislators racing throughout the week to get their bills through committee. House and Senate committees held day and evening meetings to process bills. On Wednesday, the House swore in Rep....more
A number of proposals impacting employers and employees have been winding their way through the committee process over the last month. These include Paid Family and Medical Leave (HF5), Paid Sick and Safe Time (HF11), Wage...more
Today marks the first committee deadline at the Minnesota Legislature, whereby policy bills needed to clear all policy committees in either the House or Senate to remain viable. As legislators rushed to meet deadline,...more
Governor Tim Walz signed his first two bills into law this week. The first, HF 80, authored by Rep. Mary Murphy (DFL-Hermantown) and Sen. David Senjem (R-Rochester), makes corrections to capital investments appropriated in...more
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
On Tuesday, November 6, Minnesotans went to the polls in large numbers to vote in the first midterm election of the Trump presidency. Minnesota took center stage, as both U.S. Senate seats,all eight Congressional seats (four...more
On August 14, 2018, approximately 876,000 Minnesotans went to the polls to cast their votes to select who should be on the ballot in November. This is the highest primary turnout since 1994. Attention now turns to an eventful...more