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Greetings from the Floor,
The second legislative Special Session of the year convened today. Gov. Walz extended his peacetime emergency order another 30 days and called the Legislature back into session to give the House and Senate an opportunity to vote to end the emergency order. I intend to support extending the emergency order as the COVID-19 pandemic is not over. Although we aren’t seeing surges of cases in Minnesota, hot spots have emerged in various parts of the state. This, along with positive cases spiking in other states and overburdening hospital systems in those states, should serve as a sober reality that the coronavirus is not going away. We must remain diligent in the fight against it. The governor’s peacetime emergency order has allowed the governor and his administration to do the following since March (among other actions taken):
- extend expiration dates of health care professionals’ licensure
- allow out of state health care professionals to work in Minnesota to assist with the pandemic
- activate the National Guard to assist with the pandemic
- extend expiration dates of driver’s licenses
- put moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures
- protect workers who have pre-existing medical conditions
- provide additional financial support for workers and businesses
- expand technological capabilities for schools and students
- establish protections for veterans in Minnesota’s veterans’ homes
- prohibit price gouging of essential consumer goods
- expedite procurement of PPE
- expedite partnerships like the state’s partnership with the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic to vastly increase the state’s testing capacities
I sincerely hope this Special Session is much more productive than the June Special Session. Legislative leaders have continued to work and negotiate police reform measures and the Capital Investment Bill. Today the House released a Capital Investment Bill totaling $1.8 billion. This includes the following projects for our region:
- $7.5 million for the Clay County Resource Recovery facility
- $5.3 million for the Moorhead National Guard Readiness Center
- $110 million for statewide grade separation projects (this would include the Moorhead 11thSt project)
- $2 million for the Heartland Trail
- $15 million for statewide flood hazard mitigation
- $82 million for infrastructure work across all Minnesota State system campuses (and $75.3 million for the University of Minnesota system)
It’s also expected the Capital Investment Bill will include some tax provisions related to retroactive “like-kind exchange” conformity for Section 179 of the federal tax code, full Section 179 conformity beginning with Tax Year 2020, and a rate cut for charitable gaming taxes.
The House Ways and Means Committee will hear a supplemental budget bill this week. Notable budget items include:
- State Patrol highway, commercial vehicle, civil disturbance and Capitol Security increases
- onetime MFIP increases
- wage increases for Personal Care Assistants
- funding for veterans’ suicide and homeless prevention
- Department of Corrections overtime and staffing increases
- additional funding for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s crime laboratory and sexual assault examination kits
The spending increases in the supplemental bill would be offset by state department and agency cuts for a total reduction of $107,000 for the remainder of the 2020-2021 biennium.
As I mentioned, police reform negotiations between the House and Senate have continued since the June Special Session. The major point of contention is the expansion of the POST Board to include more citizens. The POST Board (Police Officer Standards and Training Board) establishes standards and training requirements for people to become law enforcement officers in Minnesota. A big part of the push for police reform is to include more citizen engagement in the decisions about police officer standards, disciplinary matters, and situations resulting in officer involved deaths. I will continue to keep folks updated on all these matters as this Special Session progresses.
Thank You for the Opportunity to Serve,
Ben
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