Deadlines Met; Legislature on Break
With five weeks to go in the legislative session, the legislature has wrapped up committee deadlines as of last Friday and is currently on a ten-day Easter/Passover break. Upon returning, the Minnesota Senate, House of Representatives, and Gov. Walz will need to reconcile their respective budget proposals and pass a final biennial state budget. Legislators will also work to assemble and find support for a capital investment and infrastructure package prior to the May 19th deadline to adjourn.
Focus on Finance Bills
Last week, the House of Representatives and Senate worked overtime to pass all major finance bills out of their respective committees prior to the noon deadline on Friday, April 11th. The House of Representatives and the Senate are operating from different budget targets, with the power sharing arrangement in the House resulting in a negotiated budget resolution that is much different than the one adopted by the Senate DFL majority. What’s more, both chambers have crafted far different budgets compared to the budget proposed by Gov. Walz.
With the DFL having majority in the chamber, the Senate committees were able to pass their omnibus bills out of their respective finance committees. In the House of Representatives, however, the co-chairs of each committee had to negotiate a budget bill, within its assigned spending (or cut) target, which could receive bipartisan support to pass out of committee prior to last Friday’s deadline. As a result, they took a bit of a different approach in some committees. Several bills including the omnibus higher education finance bill (H.F. 2431), omnibus health finance bill (H.F. 2435), omnibus energy finance bill (H.F. 2442), and the omnibus jobs and economic development bill (H.F. 2440) were all passed out of committee (without substantive proposals included) to effectively serve as “vehicles” for later agreements. This allows the budget bill to meet deadline and provide legislators more time to negotiate.
Emergency Medical Services Becomes a Priority
Last week, legislators and advocates gathered for a press conference to present their concerns related to lack of funding for emergency medical services (EMS), especially in rural Minnesota. Advocates are requesting an increase of $50 million per year in funding, including investments in workforce development, and an increase to the Medicaid reimbursement rates. Last session the EMS system received $30 million in funding to help with their self-declared funding emergency, but that was a fraction of the $120 million advocates sought. The legislature is considering different proposals to boost their funding, but with many budget areas looking to cut spending, the prospects remain uncertain. Legislators have taken this on as a bipartisan issue they hope to solve as the budget negotiations continue.
Important Dates to Remember
April 21, 2025 Legislature Resumes at 12:00 PM
April 23, 2025 Governor Walz State of the State
May 19, 2025 Constitutional Deadline to adjourn legislative session
Congress is on recess for the next two weeks, but political and policy developments continue to unfold in Washington.
Trump Tariffs Create Market Jitters
President Trump is back in D.C. while Congress is out, and his trade policies continue to impact markets. Two conflicting messages emerged this weekend:
House Reconciliation Package Markups Begin April 28
Republicans are preparing to begin House committee markups for their reconciliation package the week of April 28. Three committees—Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Armed Services—are expected to start first, focusing on border security and defense. Committee allocations include, $110B for Judiciary, $90B for Homeland Security, and $100B for Armed Services.
The goal: finalize the House package before Memorial Day. However, internal differences and coordination with the Senate remain key challenges. Speaker Johnson reiterated that he opposes raising taxes on high earners, distancing himself from a proposal reportedly circulating within the Trump administration.
Looking Ahead
