May 3, 2022 Three Weeks and Counting until the Deadline to Adjourn

 

Busy Week for Law-Makers

The legislature rolled up its sleeves and dug into multiple omnibus bills last week, spending over 30 hours in combined floor debates and committee hearings. A bipartisan working group of Senate GOP and House DFL leadership reached an agreement to combine proposals to replenish the unemployment insurance trust fund deficit and provide direct payments for frontline workers who worked through the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic . The constitutionally mandated deadline of May 23rd, 2022 gives legislators roughly three weeks to reconcile supplemental budget bills and find common ground on differing policy agendas. It is unlikely that either majority caucus has an appetite for a special session this year, as legislators will likely want to begin campaigning in their new legislative districts. These next three weeks are key for legislators hoping to tout major accomplishments on the campaign trail and for those wrapping up their final legislative session.  

  

Deal Reached on Unemployment Insurance and Frontline Worker Bonus Checks 

On Thursday, April 28, 2022, Senate Republican and House DFL leadership reached an agreement that refills the Unemployment Insurance (UI) trust fund and appropriates $500 million to frontline worker bonuses.

S.F. 2677 (Pratt/Pelowski) appropriates $500 million in bonuses to an estimated 667,000 frontline workers. Recipients will receive at least $750 but may receive more depending on the size of the application pool. Applicants must have worked at least 120 hours between May 15, 2020, and June 30, 2021, in one or more of the following fields to qualify:

• Long term care and Home care;
• Health care;
• Emergency responders;
• Public health, social service, and regulatory service;
• Courts and corrections;
• Child care;
• Schools, including charter schools, state schools, and higher education;
• Food service, including production, processing, preparation, sale, and delivery;
• Retail, including sales, fulfillment, distribution, and delivery;
• Temporary shelters and hotels;
• Building services, including maintenance, janitorial, and security;
• Public transit;
• Ground and air transportation services;
• Manufacturing; and
• Vocational rehabilitation.

Qualifying frontline workers have 45 days from when the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) opens the application process to apply for bonuses. Legislators originally set aside $250 million as a part of the 2021 budget agreement but could not agree on who could receive checks and the dollar amounts for recipients.  

S.F. 2677 also replenishes the UI trust fund by appropriating $2.7 billion to restore the fund to its pre-pandemic level, and avoid the automatic 14% assessment on businesses that would have kicked in as a result of the deficit. The Department of Employment & Economic Development (DEED) Commissioner Steve Grove said in a statement that it was too late to recalculate unemployment assessments and businesses should wait on the department to issue tax refunds from the state. 

S.F. 2677 appropriates $190 million from the general fund granted to Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) for vaccinations, Covid-19 rapid response teams, and outbreak management. The agreement leaves roughly $6.3 billion of the state’s historic budget surplus on the bottom line.

 

What Was Passed?

The Legislature continues working through supplemental appropriation bills with nine bills being passed by one body or the other. These bills will head to a conference committee with members of the House and Senate. Four bills of note that advanced this week include:

• [S.F. 2673 – Sen. Limmer (R- Maple Grove)] Senate Judiciary & Public Safety Omnibus bill. This bill focuses on officer recruitment and retention by appropriating money for bonuses to officers who exhibit exemplary service and serve a minimum of 5 years without an adverse disciplinary action; bonuses can be up to $10,000. The bill also included new spending for the courts, prisons and police body cameras. In addition, the language imposes harsher sentences for those found guilty of carjackings. S.F. 2673 passed the Senate by a vote of 48 to 19. 
  
  
• [H.F. 4366 - Sen. Westrom (R- Elbow Lake)] Agriculture and Housing Omnibus bill. This bill features a contentious provision that reverses a voter-approved Minneapolis and St. Paul rent control ballot measure aimed at stabilizing rent prices in the two municipalities. Another provision of note in H.F. 4366 appropriates $25 million from the general fund to the office of Broadband for projects related to the installation of broadband in rural Minnesota communities. H.F. 4366 passed the Senate by a vote of 41-26.
  
  
• [H.F. 4300 - Rep. Davine (DFL- Minneapolis)] E-12 Education Finance & Policy Omnibus bill. This is one of the largest supplemental budget appropriations bills this session with $1.1 billion being appropriated in fiscal year 23 and $2.1 billion being appropriated in fiscal years 24-25. One of the largest ticket items in H.F. 4300 provides additional funding for the special education cross-subsidy, which will help school districts fund their special education departments by appropriating $422 million in fiscal year 23 then to $922 million in fiscal year 24-25. The House passed H.F. 4300 by a vote of 69-61. 
  
  
• [H.F. 4492 - Rep. Hansen (DFL- South St. Paul)] Environment Finance & Policy Omnibus bill would appropriate an additional $240 million from the general fund to the board of Soil & Water Resources ($68.7 million), the Department of Natural Resources ($54.7 million), the Pollution Control Agency ($58.4 million), and the Metropolitan Council ($13 million). One provision to note in H.F. 4492 is a controversial provision that bans the use of so-called ‘forever chemicals’ known as PFAS. H.F. 4492 passed the House by a vote of 70-59. 

 

Important Dates to Remember

• May 13-14, 2022: Republican State Convention in Rochester - All statewide constitutional offices endorsed.  (No US Senate race)
  
  
• May 20-22, 2022: DFL State Convention in Rochester - All statewide offices endorsed.  (No US Senate race)
  
  
• May 23, 2022: Session’s Constitutional Mandated Adjournment 
  
  
• May 17 - May 31, 2022: Candidate Filing for all constitutional offices and the MN House and Senate
  
  
• August 9, 2022: Primary Election
  
  
• November 8, 2022: General Election