Minnesota Legislature
Week in Review: April 7-11
By Lisa Kaczke
A busy week of negotiations and compromises was the theme as most — most — finance committees met Friday’s noon deadline to approve finance bills and send them to the House Ways and Means Committee. Although the transportation bill is going to taxes next.
Five other committees — education, energy, environment and natural resources, health and higher education — couldn’t reach a bipartisan deal before the deadline and instead approved vehicle bills that’ll likely be amended later.
Will those folks work while the Legislature takes breather?
The Legislature will be off for the Easter/Passover break until noon April 21. Then lawmakers will have four weeks of the regular session to put together a biennial state budget by the constitutional deadline of May 19 to finish their work.
Recent Dailies
Omnibus state government bill aims to tighten reins on fraudulent spending
By Mike Cook
Going after fraudulent behavior through withholding payments and added whistleblower protection are key aspects of the omnibus state government policy bill.
The proposal wou...
Workforce committee considers funding boost to youth employment programs
By Margaret Stevens
Advocating for increased spending for youth employment programs, Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura (DFL-Mpls) speaks from firsthand experience.
As a high school intern in Minneapoli...
Conversions from commercial to housing in Minneapolis, St. Paul could get a boost from TIF
By Rob Hubbard Tax increment financing is kind of like borrowing from the future. Cities can create “TIF districts” to help finance the redevelopment of a blighted section of town, diverting f...House committee weighs ban on pet shops selling cats, dogs
By Lisa Kaczke
Just three pet stores in Minnesota sell cats and dogs.
As the pet store industry moves away from selling four-legged friends, Rep. Matt Norris (DFL-Blaine) wants to end thos...
Bill proposes fines, state teams to fix mental health assessment delays
By Todd Abeln To get the mental health services needed many times an assessment is required. However, a requirement timeline to get one is often not met. According to the Department of Hu...Tribute to House’s longest-serving female member proposed with grant program name change
By Brian Basham
Rep. Mary Murphy was the longest serving woman in the history of the House.
Representing her district near Duluth from 1977 to 2023, the DFLer from Hermantown championed the...
House leaders release committee budget targets
By Mike Cook
With all session committee deadlines less than two weeks away, House leaders announced an agreement Saturday on committee finance targets while crafting a spending plan for...
Week in Review March 24-28
By Lisa Kaczke
With little fanfare happening on the House Floor this week, the focus was on committees as the first two deadlines to approve bills looms next week.
The House Education Fina...
Panel hears governor’s proposal to cut $685 million from education budget over next four years
By Brian Basham
Cuts in education spending may be inevitable in the coming years as Minnesota faces a projected nearly $6 billion budget deficit in the 2028-29 biennium.
Education Commissio...
Research on controlling invasive species among projects in $103 million environmental trust fund bill
By Tim Walker If you play the lottery, you hope you’ll be one of the rare lucky ones who win big, but odds are you will not. But you can at least be philosophical about it and tell yourse...Session Daily Home
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Ways and Means Committee OKs House budget resolution
By Mike Cook
Total net General Fund expenditures in the 2026-27 biennium will not exceed a hair less than $66.62 billion.
That is the budget resolution approved Tuesday by the House Ways...
Minnesota's budget outlook worsens in both near, long term
By Rob Hubbard
It looks as if those calling for less state spending could get their wish, judging from Thursday’s release of the February 2025 Budget and Economic Forecast.
A state su...
