Entering the 2022 Legislative Session, Minnesotans were looking for the legislature to take action on the issues facing families across the state. Though we had passed a balanced budget in 2021 that made important investments, there was more work to do.
With a $9.25 billion budget surplus, we had a historic opportunity to address Minnesotans’ needs and ensure a fair and full recovery from the unprecedented disruption of the last two years. Though we faced a divided government, Senate DFLers were ready to find the compromise needed to get the work done to deliver for Minnesotans.
Unfortunately, Senate Republicans had other plans. Again and again, they chose politics over progress while blocking important debates and discussions on issues Minnesotans care about. It was even difficult to find a final agreement on the issues they said they prioritized.
This was immediately evident with the unfinished work of 2021. Though legislation was passed last year to provide frontline worker bonus pay for those Minnesotans who put their lives on the line to keep our state moving during the early days of the pandemic, Republicans refused to move quickly to deliver this aid. It wasn’t until April of 2022, almost a year after the legislation was passed, that an agreement was reached. While this delay was a disservice to Minnesota’s workers, Senate DFLers worked with the House and Governor to double the total amount of funding available to workers and made sure all frontline workers were eligible.
At a time when Minnesotans were looking for help in our recovery from the worst of COVID-19, Republicans made their priorities clear: they proposed using most of the budget surplus for tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefited the rich. The Republican tax bill spent eight times as much on tax cuts for high-income Minnesotans than the Republican education bill spent on Minnesota’s schools.
While Senate DFLers fought for a fair tax cut for the middle-class and working families that ensured the rich would pay their fair share, we also pushed to invest in our students and schools, seniors and long-term care, and the public safety of communities across the state.
As the session reached its final days, Senate DFLers were ready to work around the clock to finish the work Minnesotans sent us here to do. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans chose not to. Despite coming to an agreement with House Democrats and Governor Walz to provide tax cuts, investments in schools, health care, public safety, and a $1 billion jobs bill, Senate Republicans walked away.
The failure to get this done falls squarely at the feet of do-nothing Republicans, who chose campaigning over legislating.
Throughout this legislative session, Senate DFLers have been fighting for the values we all share: an economy that works for Minnesotans, a safer Minnesota with thriving communities, and a higher quality of life for everyone in every corner of our state. That commitment remains, and Senate DFLers will not stop fighting to fulfill the promises we made to Minnesotans.
Entering the 2022 Legislative Session, Minnesotans were looking for the legislature to take action on the issues facing families across the state. Though we had passed a balanced budget in 2021 that made important investments, there was more work to do…
Senate DFLers fought for and passed an agriculture omnibus bill that made investments in our farmers and agriculture economy….
During the interim the Senate Capital Investment Committee traveled the state looking at projects to determine how to best allocate state resources for vital projects. In total, over $5.5 billion in requests were made from agencies and local governments…
The House and Senate reached an agreement on a “reinsurance” bill to extend the program first authorized in 2017 for five additional years. At $789 million, the cost is about half as much as what Senate Republicans initially wanted to send insurance companies, and the final agreement includes two key health care reform policies that DFLers insisted upon adding…
A bill was passed and signed into law to increase the salary cap on part-time school employees who seeks to run for school board in the same district that employs them. Currently, an employee may not earn more than $8,000 per year to be eligible to serve on the school board. This change will allow an employee to make up to $20,000 annually and serve on the school board concurrently. (SF 3107)…
Though the Energy committee met consistently throughout the 2022 legislative session, little was accomplished by adjournment. The only standalone bills from the committee that were brought to the floor by Senate Republicans include one bill to provide an extension for a net-zero energy project currently underway by the Prairie Island Indian Community, and another that would create an exception to the moratorium on new nuclear projects for small scale nuclear projects of 100 megawatts or less…
Though it originally failed to garner enough support to pass its first committee in the Senate, the Legislature ultimately passed a bill to allocate funds from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) and sent the bill to Governor Walz for his signature. The final bill passed the Senate unanimously, but it was not without controversy…
Despite stalled negotiations on the HHS omnibus budget bill, the conference committee put together a sweeping policy package that passed in the final minutes of the regular Legislative session. Most of the policy in this bill received bipartisan support throughout the legislative session. Additionally, one change DFLers have fought for over the past few years finally crossed the finish line…
One of the early victories of this legislative session was the passage of a bill to allocate $20 million for research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is the most common type of motor neuron disease, but over 90% of cases have no known cause…
The governor’s proposal appropriated $225 million in FY 2023 and would allocate $184 million in the tails. The plan put forward by Senate Republicans appropriates $50 million in FY 2023. In total, the Senate Republicans appropriated $175 million less in FY 2023 and $184 million less in the tails for a 3-year difference of $359 million compared to the governor’s position…
The global pandemic put significant stress on workers and businesses across Minnesota. The ability of Minnesotans to pay their bills was challenged in ways we haven’t seen in generations. However, Minnesotans responded in ways few other states matched…
Both the Senate and House passed an omnibus bill, but those bills were vastly different and could not be reconciled in the conference committee process. See “Didn’t Pass” for more information on what was included in those bills as well as other priorities for Senate DFLers that didn’t pass…
The work of the Local Government Policy Committee this session primarily focused on addressing technical and uncontroversial legislation. While the committee did take up and pass, along party-lines, controversial housing and rent control legislation, the bulk of the committee’s work centered on non-controversial local government policy…
State Government and Elections
Our state employees do important work – from nurses to law enforcement officers to support staff; in many ways, they are what makes Minnesota run. The Legislature is responsible for ratifying contracts with unions representing many of these workers, and shortly before the end of the session we did so…
A bill passed the Legislature and was signed into law to push back the sunset of the Capitol Area Security Advisory Committee from June 30, 2022, to June 30, 2036.
The Capitol Security Advisory Committee was created in 2011 and meets regularly to discuss and advise on security issues and concerns relating to the Capitol Complex…
The final Tax Conference Committee Report was never finalized nor passed out of conference committee. The group adopted all available articles and the spreadsheet on May 22, but the conference committee was left open, and no report was signed. (HF 3669)…
From an objective standpoint, this was a great year for veterans and the Minnesota National Guard as DFLers worked hard to build upon recent legislative successes in these issue areas. Importantly, unlike most major issue areas at the Legislature, the Veteran Affairs and National Guard provisions were passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Walz…