It’s the final full week of the 2022 legislative session, and time is running out to complete work on a supplemental budget and policy provisions before adjournment. After several months of legislative work, these next few days will decide what the final supplemental budget, tax, and bonding bill look like.
Over the weekend, House and Senate leadership together with Governor Walz came to a global agreement to provide a framework for the overall spending in the final budget and tax bills. This framework outlined the total amount of agreed-upon spending – a combination of investments in our economic recovery, tax relief, and leaving some of the approximate $9.2 billion surplus on the bottom line to prepare for any future economic uncertainty.
Now, conference committee negotiations between the House and Senate are moving very quickly. These negotiations remain fluid, with major differences left to negotiate. Legislators will be working throughout the weekend to find compromises and get these bills to the floor of their respective bodies for passage.
While these negotiations continue, Senate DFLers have attempted to bring stand-alone bills that Senate Republicans have refused to take action on to the floor. This week alone, Republicans blocked discussion on adult-use cannabis and a ban on conversion therapy. Minnesotans are asking policymakers for discussion on these issues, and we should debate them, not block them.
