The End of Second Deadline
Last Friday, April 1, 2022, marked the passage of the Minnesota Legislature’s second committee deadline. This means that any proposal that met the prior week’s deadline to be heard in all requisite policy committees in one legislative chamber had until last Friday to be heard in all requisite policy committees in the second chamber. This coming Friday, April 8, 2022, is the third committee deadline; the date by which all finance or budget bills must be passed out of committee. The passage of committee deadline marks a transition in the legislative calendar as committee activity decreases and the time legislators spend on the floor debating proposals as a full chamber increases significantly.
Solidarity with Ukraine, Divestment from Russia
On Tuesday, March 29, 2022, the Minnesota Senate took up and passed H.F. 4165, which directs the State Board of Investments to divest all investments from Russia and Belarus within 15 months. The bill passed the Senate unanimously having been passed by the House of Representatives 126-0, the week before. H.F. 4165 also codifies Gov. Walz’ Executive Order 22-03, which terminated any existing contract with the two nations and prohibited any future investment by the State Board of Investments. Minnesota is one of several states to pass such a measure since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
House Passes Paid Sick & Safe Proposal
On Monday, March 28, 2022, the House of Representatives again passed a statewide sick and safe time proposal that would guarantee paid time off for employees who work more than 80 hours in a year for an employer. Specifically, H.F. 41 would provide one hour of paid sick and safe time for every 30 hours an individual worked, allow workers to earn up to 48 hours a year, and carry over up to 80 unused hours from year to year. Authored by Rep. Liz Olson (DFL- Duluth), the bill would allow workers to use the paid time off when recovering from illness, taking care of sick family members, or fleeing domestic violence. House Republicans criticized the bill as an additional burden on private employers that had a disproportionate impact on small businesses. The bill passed 69-62 and was sent to the Senate where the companion file, SF 331 (Murphy, DFL-St. Paul) remains in the Senate Labor & Industry Committee.
Agreement Reached on Reinsurance Program
On Monday, March 28, 2022, a conference committee of ten legislators was named to begin the process of negotiating the difference between the House and Senate proposals to extend the Minnesota Premium Security Plan. Commonly referred to as the “reinsurance” program, the Minnesota Premium Security Plan is designed to reduce premiums in the individual health insurance market by providing public dollars to cover a portion of health care costs for the roughly 165,000 people in the individual market.
Committee and legislative leaders met throughout the week before reaching an agreement late Wednesday. The compromise bill reauthorized the reinsurance program for 5 years, but only provided funding for 3 years. The Minnesota Department of Commerce estimates that the $890 million proposal will reduce insurance premium costs by 20-25 percent. The legislation landed on the governor’s desk just prior to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s April 1, 2022 deadline.
Federal Update
House Looks to Vote on Aid for Eateries Hit by Pandemic
The House is expected this week to take up a small-business pandemic aid package that would provide $42 billion in additional restaurant relief and $13 billion for other “hard hit” industries. The Rules Committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday on the revised bill (HR 3807), which means floor action will soon follow. Democratic leaders are whipping the bill to see if there are enough votes to pass it, according to a source familiar with the planning who wasn't authorized to speak publicly.
The restaurant and hard-hit business grant funding would be offset by “all funds rescinded, seized, reclaimed, or otherwise returned” from various programs in prior pandemic relief laws. It was not immediately clear if that would score as a full or partial offset for the $55 billion in total funding.
Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) said in an interview Friday that he has been working with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for months to provide additional aid to restaurants and other small businesses that were not able to access previous pandemic relief programs.
In a letter Phillips read to Pelosi and House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) with the support of more than 40 other Democrats, Phillips warned they would “be hesitant to support” a COVID-19 supplemental if it did not include aid for the “hardest-hit small businesses,” providing momentum for action on the issue.
Appropriations Leaders to Meet on Fiscal 2023 Budget
The “four corners” of the Appropriations committee leadership in both chambers will meet this week for the first time during the fiscal 2023 budget cycle.
House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) said she’ll meet with her committee's ranking member, Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) and leading Senate appropriators Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) and Richard C. Shelby (R-AL). Whether on the phone — or in the room — the talk will be the first in what’s likely to be a long negotiation on fiscal 2023 funds.
DeLauro said she believes Congress can pass the appropriations bills on time. Biden’s budget calls for $813 billion in total defense-related spending and about $831 billion in spending on domestic and foreign aid programs. The proposal immediately riled up Republicans, who say higher defense spending is needed given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s military growth.
Please reach out to any of the Larkin Hoffman Government Relations team members with any questions.
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