Minnesota lawmakers charged toward a deadline for action on bills Sunday, clearing their desks of an array of budget touchup and policy bills.
Earlier in the week, legislative leaders and the governor reached a deal to pass a $1.2 billion public construction projects bill, refund expansion for some property taxpayers, a temporary decrease in license tab fees and new funding for school and lawmaker safety measures.
But broad swaths of those proposals took into the weekend to be readied for action. Despite some frustration about items left out or changed, the bills were all getting through without incident.
Public Construction Projects Bill
The Legislature’s Capital Investment committees finally presented their $1.2 billion public projects bill Sunday afternoon.
The proposal is one of the main priorities of an even-year session. It needs three-fifths majority support in each chamber to pass.
“Today is a good day. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad we have a bonding bill in front of us,” Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria, told the committee. Franson is co-chair of the House Capital Investment Committee.
The proposal will send hundreds of millions of dollars to water projects around the state, road and bridge repairs, state building preservation efforts and public safety buildings. It also includes a proposal to lower vehicle license tab fees for a year.
It needs to path through both chambers to move to the governor’s desk for his signature.
Capitol security
A proposal to keep in place weapons screening and additional security at the Capitol building passed both chambers Saturday and now moves to the governor’s desk for his signature.
The bill also boosts funding for court security measures around the state and creates a new legislative services unit under the State Patrol that will investigate threats to elected officials and help coordinate temporary police security for lawmakers if they face credible threats.
“This bill, as I have said repeatedly, is not just for legislators,” Rep. Kelly Moller, DFL-Shoreview, said Saturday. “It is much broader than that and provides statewide security.”
Lawmakers have said the additional safety measures are needed after they’ve tracked a surge in threats — and after the June assassination of former House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the attempted killings of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. Both shootings took place at the lawmakers’ homes.
Details about additional supplemental budget bills and a capital investment bill are expected to come to light as the proposals get hashed out Sunday.
School safety measures advance without gun restrictions
A proposal to boost funding for anonymous threat reporting is also on its way to the governor’s desk after passing both the House and Senate on Saturday.
The package has been a priority for lawmakers from both parties following the August shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School. Two children died and dozens more were injured.
“For mass school shootings where four or more are killed, the shooters are insiders. Shooters are in crisis. Shooters tell others, that’s why we must a layered approach,” said Coon Rapids DFL Rep. Kari Rehrauer. “One of those effective layers is anonymous threat reporting.”
Some lawmakers said the $5 million appropriation for the threat reporting mechanisms wasn’t enough.
“We should be embarrassed, completely embarrassed,” said Rep. Elliott Engen, R-White Bear Township.
Another supplemental budget bill related to health is expected to include additional funding for student mental health programs.
Democrats have also pressed Republicans in the tied House to take up measures restricting ghost guns, assault-style weapons and high capacity magazines. Thus far, those have not picked up support from GOP lawmakers in the chamber. The DFL-led Senate approved them on a party-line vote.
Money for IT upgrades could head to counties
A bill that will give about $90 million to counties and tribes for human services IT upgrades is headed to Gov. Tim Walz, who is expected to sign it.
People access programs like Medicaid and SNAP through their counties or tribal governments, but the technology staff use to get those dollars in people's pockets dates back decades.
“The technology that the counties are forced to use by the state of Minnesota dates back to the late 1980s early 1990s,” bill sponsor Rep. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, said Sunday. Torkelson said the technology is so slow and difficult to navigate it makes it harder for counties to provide services and retain employees.
“What young person would like to sit down in front of a green screen and watch the wheel of death for a while before they can even enter an address the first time? And in many of these applications, they have to enter the same address three or four times."
Upgrades will be a multi-year process and the bill establishes an ongoing fund so counties and tribes won’t have to wait another 30 years for the Legislature to appropriate more money. In addition, the bill creates the Human Services Modernization Advisory Council and a legislative commission to guide statewide technology upgrades.
The bill also includes $15 million for technology upgrades to improve fraud detection in state agencies. Torkelson said that money is for the Office of the Inspector General, a new government watchdog agency established by the Legislature this year.
This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.