Leader Kent’s statement on Representative John Thompson
After the recent alleged reports of a pattern of domestic abuse by Representative John Thompson, Senate DFL Leader Susan Kent (DFL-Woodbury) released the following statement.
Sen. Susan Kent
Leader Kent’s statement on the news of Senator Tomassoni’s ALS diagnosis
Senate DFL Leader Susan Kent (DFL-Woodbury) released the following statement after the news of Senator David Tomassoni’s (I-Chisholm) recent ALS diagnosis.
Senate DFL Leader Susan Kent statement on Senate Republicans refusing to adjourn sine die in order to consider commissioner confirmations
Today, the Senate Republicans refused to adjourn the special session, even though the House adjourned sine die, and all of the budget bills have been signed by the governor, including the tax bill. On the Senate floor this morning, it was confirmed that the GOP Majority is planning to take up commissioner confirmations next week and extend the special session indefinitely.
Senate DFL Leader Susan Kent statement on budget agreements
Yesterday, the Minnesota Legislature passed the last of the budget bills to avoid a government shutdown. The governor has now signed all of the budget bills into law. In the early morning hours of July 1, the legislature passed a tax bill and adjourned.
Senate DFL Leader Susan Kent’s statement on Senate Republican changes to the state government omnibus bill
Today, Senate Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, proposed and passed amendments to the state government omnibus bill that waives the penalties on businesses who violated COVID-19 safety precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. In addition, they also voted to bring an abrupt end to Governor Walz’s emergency powers immediately, which effectively ends $45 million a month in emergency SNAP benefits for those who have been hardest hit by the pandemic and deal with food insecurity.
Senate Republicans remove Refinery Safety language from Jobs Bill
In a meeting of the Senate Finance Committee meeting Monday, Senate Republicans stripped language from the omnibus jobs bill requiring petroleum refineries to employ only skilled and highly trained workers. The removal of the provision comes despite the overwhelming bipartisan support of the amendment on the floor, which was adopted last Friday on a vote of 50 to 17.