Unprecedented. -
That is how political observers, politicians and media pundits are describing what is in front of the Minnesota legislature and DFL Governor Tim Walz as the legislature sets to convene next Monday,...more
Minnesota Senate Republicans voted to deny the Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) Commissioner Nancy Leppink confirmation on the Senate floor Tuesday, August 12 on a party-line vote of 34 "no" votes and 32 "yes" votes. With...more
After learning that the pandemic has left an approximately $2.4 billion hole in Minnesota's general fund budget, legislators are left with only seven days to complete their work before next Monday's May 18 constitutional...more
In less than 60 days, Minnesota's state budget has taken a $4 billion hit to its bottom line. Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Myron Frans announced today that the global pandemic is responsible for a severe...more
On Friday, March 13, Governor Tim Walz signed executive order 20-01, declaring a peacetime state of emergency in response to the spread of COVID-19 within Minnesota. The administration and various departments in the state are...more
With the November 2020 general election on the horizon, the 2020 Minnesota Legislature got to work this week....more
Legislators return to St. Paul today after their 10-day Easter/Passover break. Legislators left town on Friday, April 12 after meeting the third and final deadline for finance committees to complete their work before heading...more
4/24/2019
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Business Taxes ,
Capital Investments ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Gas Taxes ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Sales Tax ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State Funding ,
Transportation Industry
Priorities Drive Tax and Spending Increases -
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz released his two-year budget proposal at noon yesterday, kicking off a ferocious debate over his administration's proposed spending and tax...more
The polar vortex may have brought temperatures colder than Siberia to the Midwest, but legislative activity continued throughout the week. The Senate canceled all committee hearings on Wednesday, January 30; however, the...more
The 2018 Minnesota legislative session kicked off with the state’s budget administrators announcing a $329 million budget surplus. Looking back, there wasn't much more good news from this session....more
Last week, the House of Representatives Republican majority announced their budget targets for the 2018 legislative session. In February the Minnesota Management and Budget projected the state to have a $329 million surplus. ...more
4/16/2018
/ Agricultural Workers ,
Disabilities ,
Educational Institutions ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mental Health ,
Public Safety ,
Roads ,
State Budgets ,
State Funding ,
State Taxes ,
Students ,
Tax Relief ,
Taxation
The 2018 Minnesota legislature kicked off at noon yesterday with no solution to the legal standoff in the Minnesota Senate over whether a Republican state senator can legally hold both her Senate seat and be lieutenant...more
2/21/2018
/ Governors ,
Highways ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Local Ordinance ,
Opioid ,
Preemption ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
State Funding ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Reform ,
Transportation Industry ,
Wage and Hour
Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released the 2017 November Budget and Economic Forecast. Projections show a deficit of $188 million for the current biennium, and a projected negative balance of $586 million for the...more
Yesterday, the Minnesota State Supreme Court again upheld Governor Dayton’s line-item veto of the legislature’s operating funds. While not definitively ruling on the constitutionality of the action, the court objected to...more
Minnesota lawmakers used every last minute available to them to try and complete their work prior to the deadline for the 2017 legislative session, but it was not enough time. At 12:01 a.m. early last Tuesday morning,...more
5/31/2017
/ Bridges ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Health Insurance ,
Highways ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Public Schools ,
Public Transit ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Renewable Energy ,
Roads ,
State Budgets ,
Surface Transportation ,
Tax Relief
The November general election obviously represents a sea change in how business will be conducted at the Minnesota state capitol when legislators return to work on January 3, 2017. House Republicans will enjoy a comfortable...more
12/12/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Budget Surplus ,
Business Taxes ,
Child Care ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Elder Care ,
Forestry ,
General Elections ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Mining ,
Property Tax ,
Public Health Insurance Marketplace ,
State Budgets ,
Tax Cuts ,
Tourists ,
Trump Administration
Handful of Races to Decide Majorities -
With less than two weeks before voters go to the polls to register their verdicts in the 2016 general election, the outcome for control of both bodies of the Minnesota legislature...more
Just a few days before the beginning of the 2016 legislative session, legislative leaders received some unexpected bad news: A previously healthy $1.2 billion budget surplus projection had dropped by $300 million to $900...more
Retirements, an election year and economic forecasts will shape legislative session -
Anticipation is growing for the March 8 start to the 2016 legislative session. This year there is an election looming and all 201...more
In dramatic fashion, and with some historic footnotes, the 2013 Minnesota Legislature concluded its work last week....more
The Minnesota Legislature reconvened this past Tuesday after a weeklong break. Committees have taken to task assembling omnibus bills to meet the third committee deadline of April 19. This deadline was set in January for...more