Minnesota UpdateLegislature Returns with Focus on Supplemental Appropriations With roughly six weeks to go in the 2024 legislative session, legislators are focusing on crafting a supplemental budget, assembling capital investment proposals, and passing omnibus policy bills. The third deadline, which is the deadline major budget bills must pass out of their respective committees, is April 19th. However, the legislature will take a short break for Eid prior to the deadline. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives started the process of passing omnibus policy bills last week and are expected to complete much of that work in the coming days. Most policy bills are likely headed toward conference committees where members of each body will negotiate the differences between the proposals. Minneapolis Housing Looking for a Boost This session has included several proposals to increase housing potential in Minnesota, including a proposal from Rep. Hodan Hassan’s (DFL-Minneapolis) which would appropriate $35 million in FY 25 to refurbish 700 affordable housing units built in the 1960s. Introduced as H.F. 4116, the bill would be the largest non-federal funding appropriation ever directed to the Minneapolis Housing Authority. In committee, concerns were expressed over the amount of funds requested, as the committee’s supplemental budget target is $10 million. The bill was discussed in the House Housing, Finance, and Policy Committee and laid over for possible inclusion in a larger bill. The Senate version, S.F. 4020 (Mohamed) has not yet been heard in the Senate. Constitutional Amendment Moving Legislation that would place three constitutional amendments on the November ballot advanced out of another House committee last week. If passed and included on the ballot, the ballot question in H.F. 4589 would read: “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to require an independent redistricting commission to adopt boundaries for congressional and legislative districts following a decennial census; to prohibit members of the legislature from serving as lobbyists while in office and for a period of one year after leaving office; and to amend requirements related to the timing and process for convening regular legislative sessions?” The House State and Local Government Committee approved the bill last week on a party-line vote. It will also need to pass the House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee. The Senate version, S.F. 4785, passed the Senate Elections Committee in early March and is awaiting a hearing in the State and Local Government and Veterans Committee. Other Key Bills Moving Through Committee Several significant proposals advanced through the committee process this past week, including: H.F. 1342 (Elkins) / S.F. 175 (Fateh) would allow cities to create land-value taxation districts that could be taxed in a way that excludes either property improvements or properties that have fallen into disrepair. Minnesota does not currently allow land-value taxation, but this legislation would give local units of government the ability to use this type of valuation. The bill was heard in the House Property Tax Division and laid over for possible inclusion in the division report to the House Tax Committee. H.F. 2609 (Berg) / S.F. 2827 (Latz) would clarify that a trigger activator includes a device that allows a semiautomatic firearm to shoot more than one shot with a single pull and release of the trigger. This type of trigger is commonly known as a “binary trigger” or “binary firing system.” It also adds a requirement for a report that would include specific information regarding firearms. The bill increases the penalty for a transfer to an ineligible person from a gross misdemeanor to a felony with a maximum sentence of two years. It additionally increases the maximum fine for an aggravated violation from $10,000 to $20,000. The bill was heard and passed by the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee. H.F. 2607 (Finke) / S.F. 2209 (Dibble) would mandate that health plans cover gender-affirming care in Minnesota. The legislation defines gender-affirming care as “All medical, surgical, counseling, or referral services, including telehealth services, that an individual may receive to support and affirm that individual’s gender identity or gender expression and that are legal under the laws of the state of Minnesota.” An amendment was added to allow for a religious exemption but organizations eligible for a religious exemption would have to be organized as a nonprofit religious entity or a closely held for-profit entity that has adopted a religious objection resolution. The House Health Finance and Policy Committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion in a larger omnibus bill.
Important Dates to Remember April 9, 2024 at 5pm Eid Recess Begins April 11, 2024 at 12pm Eid Recess Ends April 19, 2024 Third Deadline April 22, 2024 Passover Recess Begins April 24, 2024 at 12pm Passover Recess Ends May 20, 2024 Deadline to Adjourn Legislative Session |
Federal UpdateCongress Returns to Busy Schedule Congress is returning to an overflow of fiscal 2025 hearings, and Appropriations panels in both chambers could undergo a round of musical chairs. Starting out with defense-related hearings, the Senate Armed Services Committee is set to hear from Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown Jr. on Tuesday. The Pentagon officials will make the case for the $849.8 billion request for the fiscal year that starts in just six months. On Wednesday, the House Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee will look at funding for the Capitol Police for fiscal 2025 with Chief Thomas Manger set to testify. And Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testifies in a doubleheader on Wednesday to the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee and later to the Senate version of that panel on the president’s $62.2 billion request for discretionary funding, a 2 percent boost from the fiscal 2023 level. His appearances come as he faces a possible impeachment trial starting this week. In other appropriations news, Representative Tom Cole, R-OK, could ascend to the full House Appropriations Committee chairmanship this week. The House Republican Steering Committee is set to meet Tuesday to vote on the chairmanship, followed by GOP conference ratification the next day. The change would open up the coveted Transportation-HUD Subcommittee chairmanship, potentially setting off a domino effect among the panel’s “dozen cardinals”, as Appropriations subcommittee chairs are known. Cole’s move would also make room for new leadership on the Rules Committee, which he currently chairs. It’s not just House Republicans with some appropriations seats to fill, Senate Democrats shuffling as soon as this week their slate of Appropriations subcommittee leaders. House Set to Send Senate Impeachment Articles for Mayorkas House Republicans plan to deliver articles of impeachment for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate this week, a move that sets up what’s likely to be a sharply partisan impeachment trial. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, said House leaders will make the ceremonious trek to the Senate on Wednesday to hand over the two articles of impeachment. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-NY, told Democratic colleagues in a letter on Friday that senators will be sworn in as jurors in the trial the next day. Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, D-WA, is set to preside. If a full trial does commence, a two-thirds majority is required to convict Mayorkas. That’s unlikely to happen in the narrowly divided, Democrat-controlled Senate. Democrats in both chambers have largely backed Mayorkas, calling the impeachment charges, which center on U.S.-Mexico border policy, politically motivated. The House adopted the two impeachment articles in February. They allege “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and “breach of public trust.” Maryland Lawmakers Finalizing Bridge Repair Bill Maryland lawmakers are working to finalize legislation to waive requirements for states to pitch in on reconstruction costs as officials assess rebuilding Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. The share of federal funding, which comes from the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program, is statutorily limited based on considerations such as whether the roadway is a part of the Interstate Highway System or if total expenses exceed certain amounts. In some instances, the federal government can cover 100 percent of the costs, but in others, its share can be limited to 80 percent. The legislation — which Biden requested on Friday — would make good on his promise to have the federal government cover the total cost of reconstruction. Federal officials have estimated that it would cost at least $2 billion to rebuild the bridge, although that figure is subject to change. The legislation is expected to originate in the Senate, adding that Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-MD is working to finalize the language. The bridge, which spans 1.6 miles over the Patapsco River and outer Baltimore Harbor, suffered a partial structural collapse after a cargo ship struck one of its support columns on March 26. Democrats Look to Surpass Trump’s Record on Judges Senate Democrats have teed up floor action this week on three more of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominations, whose confirmations would catch up to the pace set by former President Donald Trump at this point in his presidency. But the Biden administration still faces a tricky confirmation process to surpass Trump’s record overall on filling the federal bench. In part because Democrats hold a slim 51-49 advantage, and Sen. Joe Manchin D-WV, has put a caveat on his support for Biden judicial nominees. |
