Saint Paul, Minn. — Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives finished approving a new two-year state budget and adjourned sine die. The Minnesota House, controlled by Democrats, and the Minnesota Senate, controlled by Republicans, convened for a special session on June 14th to finalize a bipartisan budget agreement and avoid a state government shutdown on July 1st. Representative Masin (DFL - Eagan) released the following statement to commemorate the the end of this extraordinary session:
“While this special session has been difficult at times, I am pleased with the final compromise budget bill we put together. The House DFL worked tirelessly to include provisions that will benefit all Minnesotans,” said Rep. Masin. “While we were successful on several fronts, there is still a lot of legislation that must pass in the near future which was left off of the final compromise.”
The House DFL secured extensive investments in families, workers, students, and small businesses who’ve been hit hardest by the pandemic, including:
- Increased coverage for dental services in HHS budget
- A historic increase in funding for public schools and preservation of all day pre-K for 4,000 preschoolers
- Financial support for frontline workers who sacrificed their health to keep all of us safe during the pandemic
- Investments in access to affordable child care for families and increased funding for providers
- A plan to prevent an eviction crisis and expand access to affordable housing
- Targeted tax cuts for workers and small businesses harmed by the pandemic
- Investments to improve public health and reduce racial disparities in health care
- State aid for small businesses in the Lake, Midway, and West Broadway corridors damaged during last year’s civil unrest
- Better access to reliable public transit and investments in roads, bridges, and rail
- Substantial reforms to sexual assault laws to bring justice to victims
- Measures to reform policing and increase accountability
- Investments in families who are at risk of or are experiencing homelessness
- Delivering an overdue pay raise for our PCAs and additional support for home and community-based services to help people live independently
- Substantial investments to reduce racial disparities and improve equity
- Funding for the Market Bucks program to provide healthy and affordable farmers’ market produce to SNAP/EBT users
As a result of a bipartisan deal to end Governor Walz’s emergency powers on July 1, the Legislature will not convene for a July special session or continue meeting monthly as it has done since the beginning of the pandemic.
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