Dear Neighbors,
The Easter/Passover Recess has concluded and we returned to our legislative work this week. The House and Senate majorities have passed their omnibus budget bills out of both chambers and conference committees have started meeting to sort out the differences between each body’s bills. Although both chambers are GOP-controlled, several of the final House and Senate omnibus bills have fairly significant policy and finance differences. One example is the Health and Human Services Omnibus bill. The House version, which passed on the Friday before break, contains a $600 million cut and would eliminate MNSure. The Senate’s cut is half of the House’s and keeps MNSure. These differences are parallel to the current leadership styles in the Minnesota Legislature; you can read about these here.
Real ID Update
The Real ID conference committee met on Tuesday to begin walking through differences. One key provision looms: controversial immigration rulemaking authority. As you may recall, after the original Real ID bill failed in the Senate, it was laid over for a future vote, and later taken up as a “clean” bill, removing the immigration provision. It passed overwhelmingly on a 60-7 vote.
It remains unclear as to how the House will proceed in negotiations throughout the conference committee, although Speaker Daudt has publicly insisted there will be no Real ID bill unless the immigration provision is a part of the final product.
Constituents have made it very clear to me they want this issue quickly resolved; I’ll keep advocating for a clean bill so we can put the partisan bickering to rest and get Minnesotans on planes and in federal facilities that require a Real ID compliant identification cards.
As budget negotiations continue in conference committees, I hope you’ll keep in touch on what is important to you and your family.
Your input is valued and I appreciate hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Paul