Minnesota Legislature
State Fair poll shows majority favors masks in schools, increased role for Legislature
By Jonathan Mohr
A majority of those who responded to the 2021 House of Representatives State Fair Poll support requiring K-12 students to wear masks in school during the 2021-22 school year. The poll found 51.3% of respondents support the idea, 41.3% said they are against the requirement and 7.4% are undecided.
Polltakers also favor an expanded role for the Legislature when it comes to oversight of the governor’s peacetime emergency powers. Asked whether lawmakers should have the power to terminate any rule or order issued by the governor if a peacetime emergency lasts more than 30 days, 45.9% answered “yes,” 37.4% said “no” and 16.7% are undecided.
Conducted by the nonpartisan House Public Information Services Office, the poll is an informal, unscientific survey of issues discussed in prior legislative sessions and may again be topics of discussion in 2022. This year’s poll was taken by 5,231 fairgoers, a significant drop from 2019, when 11,239 people took the poll, reflecting the overall decline in attendance at this year’s fair.
Recent Dailies
American Rescue Plan means changes for Minnesota taxpayers
By Rob Hubbard What can ARPA do for you? Signed into law in March, The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, will affect several aspects of life for your average Minnesotan. One of them is taxes.A loan against the vortex: House panel approves price spike protection
By Rob Hubbard A bill establishing that loan fund, HF1135/SF1018* — sponsored by Rep. Robert Bierman (DFL-Apple Valley) and Sen. David Senjem (R-Rochester) — passed the Senate on March 25 by a 66-0 vote.House, Senate begin work on bridging $620.5 million divide on education bill
By Rachel Kats
With less than two weeks left in the legislative session, the omnibus education bill conference committee has the difficult task of bridging vastly different perspectives on how best to fund and support students, staff and schools in the coming years.
Tax bills bear big differences on the bottom line
By Rob Hubbard
While all other conference committees discuss spending, the taxes conference committee deals with the revenue side of the ledger.
Transportation conferees begin work while waiting for final budget target
By Jonathan Mohr
Conferees working to reach agreement on the omnibus transportation finance and policy bill had an amicable start during their first meeting Monday, receiving an overview and a side-by-side comparison of the two bills they will need to reconcile.
Path to compromise on omnibus environment bill as conference committee kicks off
By Nate Gotlieb
The process of reconciling the House and Senate versions of the omnibus environment and natural resources bill began Monday, with conferees hearing overviews of the proposals.
Conferees cultivate plan to resolve differences in agriculture and broadband legislation
By Tim Walker.jpg)
Only $1.6 million separates the 2022-23 biennial spending requests in the House and Senate versions of the bill, which are $169.5 million and $167.9 million, respectively.
Conferees find House wants renewables, Senate health reinsurance
By Rob Hubbard It’s not as much about how much money, but where to spend it. That’s the key difference House and Senate conferees are discussing in the omnibus commerce, consumer protection, and energy policy and finance bills that each chamber produced.Differences in omnibus housing bills highlighted in first conference committee meeting
By Nate Gotlieb The House version of the omnibus housing bill would increase protections for renters and bolster funding for state housing programs.Public safety omnibus bill conferees start task of resolving major differences in policy provisions
By Tim Walker The House and Senate have a $46 million difference in the amount each body proposes to fund the Department of Public Safety in the upcoming biennium.Compromise on elections proposals, other measures needed as House, Senate start negotiations on omnibus state government bill
By Mike Cook
Provisions about who can vote, and where, and how ballots are tabulated are some of the differences between HF1952*/SF1831, the House and Senate omnibus state government finance bills.
Week in Review: April 26–30
By HPIS Staff
After a series of protracted floor sessions last week, there was just one this week as most of the major omnibus bills have now made their first trip through the House. The omni...
House passes bill aiming to combat ‘appraisal bias’ in real estate valuations
By Tim Walker Rep. Ginny Klevorn (DFL-Plymouth) and Sen. Gary Dahms (R-Redwood Falls) sponsor HF1768/SF1020*, which would aim to counteract the real estate valuation gap, also called “appraisal discrimination” or the “racial appraisal gap.”Aiming to expand mental health services, House passes bill to join interstate compact
By Rachel Kats
Minnesota could join 15 other states as a member of the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact.
House OKs changes to DECC bylaw terminology, competitive bidding requirements
By Mike Cook Sponsored by Rep. Liz Olson (DFL-Duluth), HF1947 is a housekeeping bill that would update verbiage to better reflect current business practices and facility operations.Powerball, other lottery winners could keep names private via bill going to governor
By Mike Cook
The House passed a bill that would add a lottery prizewinner's name to private information if the cash payment exceeds $10,000.
Plan to extend eviction ban beyond COVID-19 emergency passes House
By Nate Gotlieb
Sponsored by Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL-St. Paul) and Sen. Rich Draheim (R-Madison Lake), HF12/SF1470* was passed, as amended, 70-62 Thursday and returned to the Senate.
House, Senate versions of omnibus jobs bill differ on employment, business issues
By Nate Gotlieb There are key differences in the House and Senate omnibus jobs and economic development bills, HF1342/SF1098*, heard for the first time by a conference committee Wednesday.Conference committee work gets underway on omnibus higher ed bill
By Rachel Kats
Conferees began reviewing the differences between the House and Senate versions of HF993/SF975* Wednesday.
Education committee considers bill to increase school integration
By Rachel Kats HF2471, sponsored by Rep. Jim Davnie (DFL-Mpls), includes new proposals to increase integration in schools, build mechanisms for creating diverse charter schools, and would develop a new integration plan that includes charter schools.Session Daily Home
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Rep. Thompson to apologize for saying member is 'a racist,' ethics complaint dismissed
By Mike Cook Rep. John Thompson (DFL-St. Paul) has agreed to apologize the next time the House convenes for calling a Republican member racist during the June 19 special session.House caps off special session by passing omnibus tax bill
By Rob Hubbard
The bill would produce $49.1 billion in revenue in the 2022-23 biennium that started Thursday and provide $4.2 billion in refunds, aids and credits, including $761 million in new tax cuts and credits.
