Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee took up the 2022 budget resolution, Bud Rez 04-01, as amended, and considered the A02 amendment. The amendment increased the total general fund target by $575.497 million to reflect higher general fund costs from the UI and frontline worker bills passed on the House floor, and it also set a net negative health care access fund target of $16.831 million based on the reinsurance bill’s fund impacts. Staff noted the House budget targets document now reflected total net spending of a little over $7.9 billion. Members also discussed a new line in the general fund balance calculation for “revenue replacement repeal,” tied to Senate File 2677, which repeals a transfer to the general fund and reduces fiscal year 2023 by $633 million. Representative O’Neill asked whether the federal ARPA/State Fiscal Recovery Fund treatment needed to be explicitly reflected after the UI changes, but fiscal staff clarified that the zero-dollar target for that federal fund applies only to omnibus bills, and SF 2677 was not an omnibus bill. After no further discussion, the committee voted on the A02 amendment. The motion prevailed and the amendment was adopted.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The House convened, heard a prayer from Rabbi Marcus Rubinstein of Temple of Aaron Synagogue in St. Paul, and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. The clerk then called the roll, a quorum was established, and the journal for the 96th day of the 2022 session was approved as corrected. The body also adopted reports of standing committees and divisions and moved through routine order-of-business items, including second readings of House Files 3872 and 4355 and Senate File 2673, as well as first readings of House Files 4839 and 4840. The House received a message from the Senate transmitting Senate File 4091, which was given its first reading and described as an act relating to state government and appropriating money for commerce, jobs, and economic growth. The bill was placed on the general register and referred to the chief clerk for comparison. No substantive debate on the bill occurred in the transcript. Toward the end of the session, Majority Leader Winkler announced that the Rules Committee and DFL members would caucus and that the House would reconvene at 1:00 p.m. Representative Drazkowski noted that the new House Republican caucus would meet in Room 111B. Winkler then moved a recess to the call of the chair, and the motion prevailed, sending the House into recess.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The House Ways and Means Committee met in a hybrid session to approve the April 22 minutes and then take up budget-resolution and omnibus budget work. Members first adopted an A-02 amendment to the 2022 budget resolution, which increased the general fund target by about $575.5 million to reflect the UI costs from the frontline worker bill and set a net negative health care access fund target tied to the reinsurance bill. Staff also clarified that a zero State Fiscal Recovery Fund target applied to the omnibus bills, and the committee approved the amendment by voice vote. The committee then turned to a large health and human services package assembled through Senate File 4410, using a delete-all amendment to combine the House health, human services, and early childhood provisions. Chair Liebling described the bill as aimed at improving access to care, reducing disparities, addressing lead in drinking water, lowering pharmaceutical costs, and supporting pregnant people and children. Chair Schultz emphasized workforce shortages, higher reimbursement rates for elderly waiver services, a more than 10 percent PCA wage increase, behavioral health investments, and funding for homelessness-related services. Chair Pinto noted the early childhood provisions were integrated into the package and highlighted lead protection and child care as part of the broader workforce picture. Members then debated the bill’s treatment of disability waiver services and PCA funding. Representative O’Neill asked about the PCA increase and whether it fit within existing contract parameters; fiscal staff said the PCA-related items totaled about $102 million over three years and explained that reimbursement increases flow through providers to wages and benefits. Representative Scott argued the bill did not adequately address disability waiver services and criticized the lack of direct funding for that area, while Chair Schultz and others responded that disability waiver rates already have automatic inflationary adjustments and that the committee had prioritized areas with the greatest immediate need. Representative Pinto added that the automatic inflator in disability-related services does not exist for low-income kids and families. The DE1 amendment and the author’s A2 amendment were both adopted by voice vote, but the transcript ends before final committee action on the full bill.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee took up Senate File 4410, first moving it to the general register and then substituting the House companion language from House File 4706 into the bill. Members then adopted the DE1 amendment and an author’s amendment (A2), which removed a birth certificate provision and made other technical additions and deletions. After the amendments were adopted, the DE1 as amended was before the committee. Chair Liebling described the bill as a large combined health and human services finance and policy package that also included homelessness provisions and early childhood-related HHS provisions. She said the bill aims to improve access to care, reduce racial and ethnic disparities, address lead in drinking water, lower pharmaceutical costs, support pregnant people and children, and strengthen the health care workforce. Chair Schultz added that the bill makes historic investments despite not being a budget year, with emphasis on workforce shortages, higher reimbursement for the elderly waiver program, a more than 10 percent PCA wage increase, behavioral health, and funding for homelessness shelters and emergency shelter services. Several members questioned the bill’s treatment of disability waiver services and related provider rates. Representative O’Neill asked about PCA costs and whether the increase fit within prior contract assumptions; fiscal staff Doug Berg said PCA-related items total $102 million over three years, mostly for rate increases. Representative Scott criticized the absence of a specific disability waiver services increase and argued the bill prioritized other spending instead. Chair Schultz and Chair Liebling responded that some disability-related funding is already built into law through automatic inflation factors, that PCAs and DWRS are separate systems, and that the bill also includes other investments for people with disabilities, including an emergency staffing pool for group homes. Representative Petersburg raised concerns about inequities in intermediate care facility reimbursement rates; Chair Schultz said the bill includes a rate study to better understand and standardize those rates rather than requiring providers to repeatedly seek increases through each budget cycle.

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee first approved the minutes and then adopted an amendment to the budget resolution to shift funding between targets without increasing general fund spending. The chair explained that about $32 million was moved from claims/other bills to the workforce target for paid family and medical leave, and $1.636 million was shifted from the earned sick and safe time bill to the labor target. The committee then moved into bill presentations, with members noting they wanted to keep the hearing focused on fiscal matters and move quickly because of a late floor session the night before. House File 4177, the supplemental labor and industry omnibus, was laid over as amended after adopting the A11 and A9 amendments. The bill was described as focusing on worker and workplace safety, including a fee holiday for certain building and construction trades, logger safety grants, protections for agricultural workers, youth skills training, a Department of Labor and Industry liaison for veterans entering the trades, provisions related to large warehouse workers, OSHA compliance, prevailing wage enforcement, and funding for the Bureau of Mediation Services. Representative Garofalo said he would oppose the bill, while Chair Ecklund said the bill was intended to support workers and safety. House File 3337, the supplemental climate and energy omnibus, was also laid over as amended after a technical A12 amendment. The bill was presented as a clean energy package centered on affordability and transition investments, including weatherization, matching funds for federal infrastructure grants, clean transportation, grid reliability, climate planning for cities and agriculture, climate justice measures, electric panel upgrades, apprenticeship training, and support for communities affected by fossil fuel plant transitions. Representative Garofalo opposed the bill, arguing against spending renewable development account money and criticizing Minnesota’s nuclear surcharge, while the chair thanked the author for work on the clean energy transition. House File 3607, the supplemental commerce omnibus, was laid over as amended after adopting the A16 amendment and then discussing the bill’s finance provisions. The bill included a student loan advocate position, additional Commerce Fraud Bureau peace officers and expanded jurisdiction, more funding for auto theft prevention, a study of MNSure geographic rating areas, added insurance division staffing, and the governor’s senior fraud prevention program. Members asked about a licensing provision and its fiscal impact, and staff explained it was a pre-licensing background-check process for applicants and smaller boards that use Attorney General services. Representative Garofalo praised the insurance fraud prevention funding and the inclusion of a social media-related provision from another bill, while Representative Albright raised concerns about changes to annuity suitability language tied to FINRA and NAIC standards. The committee then moved on to House File 4355, the workforce and business development omnibus, but the transcript cuts off during discussion of amendments and the paid family medical leave provision, including questions about staffing and software implementation.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: House leaders and members discussed a package centered on unemployment insurance and frontline worker bonuses. They said the bill would fully replenish the unemployment insurance trust fund, set the base tax rate at 0.1 with no special assessment, avoid a reduction in the federal tax credit, and include $1 billion for frontline worker bonuses. They also emphasized a third component: extending unemployment insurance eligibility to hourly school workers, whom they described as unfairly excluded under current statute. Supporters said the change would help retain school bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and other education support staff, and estimated the cost at about $28 million per year, covered through a $161 million special revenue account that would reimburse school districts quarterly. The speakers described extensive negotiations with Senate leaders, the governor, and Republican legislators, and said they had moved from an earlier House position to a $2.7 billion offer in order to get a deal done. They said the bill was being used as a vehicle for a broader agreement and that a conference committee would be needed to resolve differences between the House and Senate. They also said the House would appoint conferees that day, with Senator Pratt to have the gavel and Representative Cedrick Frazier added to address the frontline worker provisions. Several procedural and political questions were raised, including why the rules were suspended to speed the bill forward before the April 30 deadline for business unemployment insurance payments. Leaders said the suspension was intended to expedite conference committee action and avoid harm to businesses, while noting that refunds could still be processed if the deadline passed. The discussion also briefly shifted to questions about Representative Thompson and possible ethics complaints, with the Speaker saying any complaint would have to go through the ethics committee and declining to comment on hypotheticals or allegations that had not yet been fully reviewed.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee took up House File 4355, Representative Noor’s workforce and business development omnibus, using the House file as the vehicle because the Senate companion had not yet advanced. Members first adopted an oral amendment to the A8 author’s amendment, which deleted Article 3 and removed pages 2 through 8 of the amendment. Noor said the amended A8 was a technical cleanup, adjusted mandated report language for legislative oversight, modified the Small Business Recovery Grant Program, and trimmed some workforce language from the Center for Economic Inclusion provisions. The A8, as amended, was adopted. The committee then considered and adopted the A9 amendment on paid family and medical leave. Noor described it as a program to help workers bond with newborns, care for themselves, or take leave for qualifying circumstances, and said it would be funded with a one-time $30.347 million appropriation for fiscal year 2023, with additional funding for several state agencies. Members questioned the staffing and technology needed to administer the program; Noor said it would require 350 new FTEs, and fiscal staff later estimated about 320 DEED FTEs in fiscal year 2025 and roughly $15.5 million per year for the IT piece. The amendment passed after debate. Noor then outlined the bill’s major provisions, including $45 million for a revolving loan program, $35 million for small business recovery grants, $20 million for Main Street revitalization, $7.5 million for Canadian border relief, $5 million for redevelopment, $4 million for child care grants, $5 million for business technical assistance, $5 million for the Women of Color Economic Security Program, $20 million for workforce development, $750,000 for TeamWorks, $25.23 million for targeted community program grants, $1 million for a state marketing effort, and creation of an Office of New Americans. The committee voted to incorporate House File 4355, as amended, into the Jobs and Economic Development omnibus as a separate article, along with three other bills. On the final roll call, the motion to recommend House File 4355 as amended for placement on the General Register passed 17-10, and nonpartisan staff were directed to make technical corrections and amend the title.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The Senate passed Senate File 2673, a comprehensive public safety bill, on a bipartisan 48-19 vote. Supporters said the measure responds to rising violent crime and seeks to better resource law enforcement, strengthen penalties, and improve public safety for families and communities. They argued the state should prioritize public safety and police staffing rather than other spending priorities. The bill was described as funding courts and public defenders, providing some money for youth intervention programs, preventing doxing, increasing fentanyl penalties through an amendment, and offering resources to recruit and retain police officers. Some senators said more officers are needed on the street and in investigations, while also emphasizing the importance of community trust and accountability. Critics said the bill did not do enough on police accountability and included some ineffective, feel-good provisions. A DFL senator argued their broader public safety approach would reduce crime now and prevent it later, and contrasted it with the majority’s tax bill, which they said provides larger tax breaks to higher-income Minnesotans than the public safety bill spends. After debate, the Senate adopted the bill as amended and passed it.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee took up a 2022 budget resolution amendment tied to the job omnibus package. Chair Olson explained that the amendment would adjust budget targets to reflect bills that had been assumed separately in the original resolution, without increasing general fund spending. The main changes included shifting about $32 million from the “claims in other bills” category to the workforce target to cover paid family leave, and moving $1.636 million from the previously passed earned sick and safe time bill into the labor target to accommodate another amendment. Miss Adrian confirmed the explanation and noted that the figures were reflected in the updated House budget target sheet. Members were asked if they had any discussion, but none was offered. The committee then proceeded to a vote on the amendment, and it prevailed. The amendment was adopted.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Tax Committee heard a lengthy informational review of Minnesota local option sales tax rules before taking up a series of local tax requests. Ms. Pollock outlined that local sales tax revenues must be used for capital projects with regional benefit, described the statutory definition of a capital project, and reviewed the required steps for authorization, including local resolutions, submission to tax committee leaders, legislative approval, a referendum, and filing voter approval with the Secretary of State. The chair confirmed that the submission requirements had generally been met for the 14 projects on the agenda. The first bill discussed was Senate File 3845, a Lake of the Woods County lodging tax measure. Senator Ackee and county representatives said the bill would shift administration of an existing 3 percent lodging tax from a joint arrangement to county control, excluding the city of Baudette, to support tourism promotion for Lake of the Woods and the surrounding fishing and resort economy. Testifiers emphasized the county’s dependence on tourism, the long travel distance to the area, the volume of angling and overnight stays, and the need to maintain marketing efforts. Committee members asked for clarification about the bill’s language referencing a 6 percent cap; Ms. Pollock explained that state law already allows up to 3 percent without legislative approval and that the bill’s language was intended to cap the combined authorization. The bill was laid over. The committee then began Senate File 3702, an Aitkin County sales and use tax proposal. The committee adopted the A1 amendment, which removed a portion of the bill that did not fit committee parameters. Aitkin city administrator Mike Skirbick testified that the city is facing serious financial strain from a limited tax base, rising levy rates, reserve depletion, and a growing number of tax-exempt public and nonprofit buildings, while also serving many seasonal residents and visitors. He said the proposed local sales tax would help fund city and regional needs such as public safety facilities, city hall and meeting space, parks, and other infrastructure, and noted that construction costs have risen sharply. The bill was still under discussion when the transcript ended.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee took up House File 3337, the supplemental climate and energy omnibus bill, and adopted a pre-filed author’s amendment (A12), described as a technical correction to align finance language and adjust a few titles. The bill was then presented as a package focused on clean energy solutions, with the author emphasizing that it omits some provisions previously passed by the House and instead concentrates on practical steps for the clean energy transition. The bill’s major funding priorities were described as $80 million from the general fund in FY 2023, with $15 million in the tails, plus $40 million from the renewable development account in FY 2023 and $40 million in each of FY 2024 and 2025. Key investments include weatherization, matching funds for federal infrastructure grants, clean transportation, electric vehicle infrastructure and buses, grid reliability and resiliency, clean hydrogen, energy storage, climate planning for cities, climate justice measures such as help with electric panel upgrades, apprenticeship training, and support for communities affected by legacy fossil fuel plants. Members raised concerns about the renewable development account and Minnesota’s surcharge on nuclear power, arguing the bill spends too aggressively in a non-budget year and should instead cap or eliminate the assessment on ratepayers. They also warned that premature closure of nuclear plants would increase emissions. The bill’s author responded that the measure is intended to address climate change and support the clean energy transition. No vote on final passage was taken; the committee laid the bill over as amended.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The House briefly reconvened to receive a message from the Senate announcing passage of Senate File 4410, described as an act relating to health and human services. The bill received its first reading in the House and was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. No substantive debate or testimony occurred on the bill during this segment. After announcements, Representative Demuth moved that the House adjourn. The motion to adjourn prevailed, and the House adjourned until 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 27, 2022.