Retirements Galore

Following last week’s release of new election maps, many more legislators have announced that they will not seek re-election. The repercussions are most notable in the Senate. For example, six of the ten members of the Senate Finance Committee have announced their retirement, including all five women who serve on the powerful committee. This includes Finance Chair Julie Rosen and Senate Minority Leader Melisa Lopez-Franzen. Additionally, Senate President David Osmek announced he will not be running for re-election either.

House Passes Frontline Worker Bonuses

On partisan lines, the Minnesota House passed H.F. 2900 (Rep. Cedric Frazier-DFL) on Thursday, which would authorize payments to frontline workers who continued working during the COVID-related peacetime emergency. The House allocated $1 billion to be split between workers identified within fifteen different sectors, with checks not to exceed $1,500. The Senate has not advanced this legislation.

Tax Proposals Take Center Stage

The House and Senate discussed competing tax proposals this week. The House Taxes Committee heard H.F. 3669 (Rep. Paul Marquart-DFL), which contains the Governor’s supplemental budget tax recommendations. Included in this proposal are one-time “Walz Checks,” refund checks that would be made available to 2.7 million Minnesota households. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus tax bill.

Meanwhile, the Senate Republican majority held a press conference announcing their tax proposal, which includes an elimination of the state’s tax on social security benefits and cutting the tax rate in half for the lowest tax bracket.

Special Election in CD 1

Following last week’s death of Congressman Jim Hagedorn, a special election has been called to complete the remainder of his term. A special primary will take place on May 24 (if needed) and the special election will be on the date of the state’s primary election, August 9. The winner of that election will complete the current term.

Easing of COVID Restrictions

With the number of COVID infections continuing to decline, restrictions that had previously been put in place are systematically being lifted. On Thursday morning, both St. Paul and Minneapolis announced that they were lifting their indoor mask mandates effective immediately. Additionally, the Minnesota Senate Building no longer requires staff members to escort visitors to the building and the House of Representatives has welcomed Capitol press members back to the House floor.