We're slowly reading through the consequences of the special session that executed the budget agreement crafted in closed negotiations between Governor Walz, House speaker Melissa Hortman and Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka.
So far, we have no particularly fresh insights on the product or the process, and so we present this news digest about both.
At MinnPost on Wednesday, the indispensable Peter Callaghan provides an overview of the entire session in Well, that happened: Making sense of Minnesota’s 2019 legislative session. Nice headline. From the copy:
. . .Walz agreed that the provider tax concession was key in the budget talks. And though the GOP may have considered it the “Holy Grail” of its government shutdown wins from 2011, Walz said he was sure they would have to give in since it was so necessary to maintain the health programs the state prides itself on. The loss of the revenue from the tax also would have had negative consequences on the overall state budget as dollars were moved around to accommodate for the loss of that money. “It was big. There’s no doubt about it,” Walz said Tuesday. “It shaped the negotiations because of the oversized importance of it.
“I think they knew they would have to compromise for both of those things, but I think ideologically it was hard. It was a tough fight. I think maybe I did not realize the depth of some of their members’ aversion to the provider tax and how much of a fight it was going to be for them to put up the votes.”
And what did the DFL get out of the deal? Walz and House Speaker Melissa Hortman avoided an ugly battle that might have included a government shutdown. They saved the provider tax and health care for 1.2 million Minnesotans it helps pay for. And they did it without agreeing to a new sunset date that many expected. They also won increases in education and higher education funding, though not as high as first proposed. And they gained a new state law against wage theft. . . .
At Minnesota Public Radio, Briana Bierschbach reports Wednesday in Walz on session: 'Functioning government matters':
Gov. Tim Walz doesn't want to call this a status-quo legislative session, even though some of his political allies and fellow Democrats have already started calling it that.
"I think the status quo in government were shutdowns and bickering," the first-term DFLer said in an interview with MPR News.
Yes, lawmakers adjourned the regular session without a budget, and yes, Walz did have to call a one-day special session to finish the work. But he said things could have gone much worse negotiating a deal with one of the only divided legislatures in the nation. Republicans control the Minnesota Senate by two votes, while Democrats lead the House.
"Functioning government matters," he said. "In a very chaotic and unpredictable world, there's a sense that normalcy to how we go about our democracy is important." . . .
Walz is also hesitant to be too critical of Republicans in the aftermath of the deal, even though he acknowledges that there's much more he wanted to do this year.
That's because the same challenges are present next year. He'll still be governor, and the Legislature will still be divided between Republicans and Democrats. But there is one big difference: Next year is an election year when every seat in the House and Senate will be on the ballot, and he won't.
"November of 2020," he said. "It is coming, there will be a reckoning as there should be in a democracy."
At the Pioneer Press, Dave Orrick provides a punch list in MN Legislature: What they passed and what they killed. Here’s a guide to more than 50 issues. Our favorite pet issues:
On Tuesday, Forum Communications capitol reporter Dana Ferguson filed Here's a look at who came away with wins and losses in the 2019 legislative session. A sample:
. . . State lawmakers went into "overtime" to finish their constitutionally-mandated work of passing a balanced budget Friday, May 24 and into the early hours of the following morning. And while most Minnesotans were sleeping, lawmakers debated and ultimately approved a $48.3 billion spending plan for the next two years.
On both sides of Minnesota's divided Legislature, lawmakers put forth policy and spending ideas that were ultimately folded into state law or squashed (at least for now).
Days after the early-morning end of a one-day special session, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-Nisswa, framed the budget negotiation as a "draw." But advocates pushing for changes in state law saw clearer wins and losses as the legislative session closed out. . . .
At the Mankato Free Press, Trey Mewes reported in What did, didn't happen in 2019 legislative session:
The Minnesota Legislature wrapped up a whirlwind special session Saturday with a number of major budget bills Gov. Tim Walz is expected to approve as soon as this week. Like every session, things didn't quite go the way lawmakers wanted.
Democrats are happy to see more spending on education and a continuing health care provider tax but disappointed in the lack of progress on transportation and infrastructure. Republicans are glad to have curbed tax increases on a variety of items, including a proposed 20-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase, but disappointed in increased government spending in several areas.
It remains to be seen how south-central Minnesota fares after the latest round of legislative action. . . .
At the International Falls Journal, the editors are Ready for next session, citing the assessment of the Chamber of Commerce:
Of all the descriptions of the 2019 session of the Minnesota Legislature, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce seems to have hit it best: Mixed results; issues teed up for 2020 session. . . .
The Star Tribune notes the lawns-to-legume language passed in Program to pay Minnesota homeowners to let their lawn go to the bees. We're glad to see the win for pollinators. The headline Lawmakers and advocates: Work on emergency insulin program not over makes us hope that 2020 might be a better year for people, too.
Session Daily staff was succinct in After sunrise, the sun sets on 2019 special session.
We'll be back in the morning with more posts.
Photo: Minnesota's new state bee (a bumble bee, not a honeybee).
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