State lawmakers are locked in negotiations over a major infrastructure package Sunday afternoon as they rush toward the end of a legislative session dominated by the coronavirus pandemic.
“A flurry of negotiations” has been unfolding all day as legislators try to wrap up work by Sunday night, said GOP Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka. The future of a borrowing bill to fund public construction projects also is tied to GOP tax relief and DFL spending priorities, the East Gull Lake Republican said Sunday afternoon.
“It there’s no bonding bill, there’s likely no tax bill or additional spending,” Gazelka said before heading into negotiations with the three other legislative leaders.
While borrowing packages known as bonding bills often come together in the final hours, the politics of the COVID-19 pandemic complicated the usual end-of-session scramble. Legislators expect to return to St. Paul in a few weeks for a special session when Gov. Tim Walz’s emergency powers are set to expire. The House and Senate must gather for Walz to extend peacetime emergency powers, which allow him to take action with minimal legislative input.
Walz’s emergency powers have been one of the key disputes in the late-going at the Capitol, where Republican lawmakers say the DFL governor should not be able to make unilateral decisions such as closing businesses. Walz and House Democrats contend that fast action is necessary as crises arise during the pandemic.
House Republicans cited concerns about Walz’s unilateral powers and the size of the House’s proposed $2 billion borrowing measure on Saturday, when they voted as a bloc against the Democrats’ plan. The Senate proposed its own $998 million bonding bill Saturday. Gazelka said Sunday he had reached an agreement with House Speaker Melissa Hortman over the size of a bonding bill, but declined to provide details.
A dispute over state worker contracts is also wrapped into final negotiations. The issue sprung up a couple weeks ago, after budget officials projected that the previously expected $1.5 billion surplus would turn into a $2.4 billion deficit. The contracts were negotiated last year and determine the pay of more than 50,000 government employees.
Republican lawmakers argued that given the budget crunch a 2.5% raise set to take effect in July should be delayed. The Senate GOP passed a bill Saturday night that would ratify the contracts but freeze the raise until July 2021. The pay raises would only take effect if the state swings back to a surplus.
House Democrats ratified the contracts with the raises. Their other spending priorities have included $100 million in housing assistance, pay for hourly school workers during coronavirus closures and wage increases for personal care assistants. The Senate Republican majority, meanwhile, has pushed for more oversight of the federal funding the state received to respond to the virus.
Many of the high-profile issues that appeared likely to dominate discussions when the session began in February, such as reform at the state Department of Human Services and gun control legislation, have been set aside as the coronavirus spread.
But lawmakers did come together over the past four months on several bipartisan priorities. They raised the age to buy tobacco products to 21, created an emergency insulin program, improved drug price transparency and agreed on a $17 million package to improve election security and safety.
While legislators must wrap up bills Sunday night, they will gather Monday for a ceremonial adjournment day. They will celebrate legislative retirements, including those of House and Senate members who have been working at the Capitol for decades. Gazelka called it a “historic moment” held outside on the south lawn of the Capitol to accommodate social distancing.
But not everyone will participate. Sen. Matt Little, DFL-Lakeville, said lawmakers should be subject to the same restrictions as high school students whose graduation ceremonies have been canceled for the pandemic.
“A state full of graduating seniors have been told they can’t have an in-person ceremony,” Little tweeted. “Us elected officials should be held to the same standard.”
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May 18, 2020 at 04:05AM
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'Flurry of negotiations' marks Legislature's final day - Minneapolis Star Tribune
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