 Dear Neighbors, The bulk of our time these past two weeks was spent on the House floor, debating and passing our proposals for new policies and supplemental budgets. Much of this work is building off our efforts from last year, ensuring our investments have the greatest impact possible for Minnesotans.  You may hear the term “budget bill” tossed around and I thought I’d explain it and why it’s heard at the end of session. Because we’re a part-time legislature that meets for only a few months every year (Jan-May or Feb-May), we have a limited amount of time to get work done and pass legislation. Each bill takes time on the floor, not to mention in one or more committees before it gets to the floor. Additionally, the minority party will often want to see fewer bills passed from the majority’s agenda, which creates a natural incentive for the minority to slow things down, sometimes further limiting legislative time. As session progresses, each committee typically bundles up a set of related bills into a single, larger package of legislation to be debated and voted on as one bill. It helps us get through a lot more legislative work than we would otherwise. We’re wrapping up all our major bills, often also called supplemental budget bills because though this isn’t a budget year, the bills may have some modest budget additions or changes in them. Here are nonpartisan summaries of some of these bills: K-12 Education, Children & Families, Transportation, Labor, and Housing, Higher Education, Judiciary and Public Safety, State and Local Government and Veterans, Elections, Human Services, Workforce and Economic Development, Agriculture, Commerce, and Energy, Health, and Taxes. As we continue to pass our remaining House proposals, House and Senate members are currently meeting in conference committees to craft consensus legislation for where we differ in these issue areas. I was on the Commerce Policy conference committee which finished last week and am also on the Energy, Agriculture & Commerce Finance conference committee, which is almost finished. These conference committee meetings, and passing these final bills, will likely take up our remaining days of the legislative session. Climate & Energy Supplemental Budget BillAs the vice-chair of the Climate & Energy Committee, I had the privilege to step in and present our bill last week. Our 2024 Climate & Energy bill builds on and helps implement the fantastic work of last year's bill, that put us on the path to 100% carbon free electricity by 2040 and net zero greenhouse gas emissions statewide by 2050. If you’re interested, here is where I start presenting the bill, thank staff, describe the bill’s components, and then debate proposed amendments. I’m proud of the bill and the work our committee did this year. For my short closing argument, including a mention of an inspiring meeting I had with Benilde St. Margaret 8th graders, click here or on the photo below. |