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Psst – I’m taking off – cover for me, wouldya?
The Minnesota House’s hours-long floor sessions are often mundane and monotonous, the chamber regularly half full at best. But when members get to voting on an amendment or a bill, the chamber suddenly looks as bustling as a bee hive. Members press the green and red voting buttons at their desks to cast a “yes” […]
Senate DFL passes tax package
Minnesota Senate Democrats on Tuesday passed a $4 billion tax plan that includes one-time rebate checks; elimination of the state tax on Social Security benefits for the majority of Minnesotans; and new revenue by capturing overseas corporate income. The House passed its tax package last week, which was largely similar but had several differences — […]
Senate passes bill legalizing recreational marijuana
The Minnesota Senate on Friday passed a bill legalizing recreational marijuana for people 21 and older by a 34-33 vote. No Senate Republicans voted for the bill. The House passed its version on Monday, garnering two Republican votes. The bills have some differences, which means a conference committee of Senate and House members will have […]
Legislative week-in-review: Kitchen sink edition
The Legislature is coming down the home stretch and passing the massive omnibus bills that we can be truly confounding to the regular folks among us. Here’s are some of the highlights of this busy week: The Senate is debating a bill legalizing recreational marijuana today (HF100). The House passed a similar bill earlier this […]
Here are some of the differences between the Senate and House DFL tax plans
Senate Democrats released their tax package on Wednesday, touting zero tax increases on individual Minnesotans, local sales tax hikes requested by cities and counties and billions in tax relief, which they say will benefit Minnesota families and seniors. The release of the Senate DFL’s tax plan brings lawmakers one step closer toward sending tax rebate […]
House passes bill legalizing recreational marijuana
The Minnesota House on Monday passed a bill legalizing recreational marijuana for people 21 and older. The bill, HF100, comes after polling shows the majority of Minnesota voters support legalizing recreational marijuana and want the state to become the 23nd to allow recreational marijuana use. The bill must still pass the Senate. DFL Gov. Tim […]
Senate passes three DFL social issue bills
The Minnesota Senate passed three bills on Friday that fulfill important progressive policy goals: a bill banning “conversion therapy” for minors, which is the medically discredited attempt to change a person’s sexual orientation; a bill that ensures Minnesota will not comply with other states’ laws or subpoenas regarding abortion-related health care; and a bill protecting […]
House passes massive K-12 education funding, policy package
House Democratic-Farmer-Labor members on Thursday passed a bill that would provide over $2.2 billion in additional funding for Minnesota schools. The bill would increase education spending by 10% to $23 billion — about 30% of the proposed $72 billion state budget for fiscal years 2024-2025. The bill’s advocates say the massive education budget is necessary […]
Minnesota senator ranted about sex ed in schools, kicked constituent teachers out of office
This story contains graphic language. Three teachers from Milaca School District — about 30 miles northeast of St. Cloud — met last week with their state senator to talk about how inadequate special education funding is burdening their district’s budget. The teachers say the meeting ended abruptly when the senator kicked them out of his […]
Highlights from Walz’s State of the State address
Gov. Tim Walz gave his annual State of the State address on Wednesday, highlighting the Legislature’s accomplishments so far this session while spending considerable time bashing Republican-led states. The second-term DFL governor forcefully denounced GOP states — citing just Florida by name — that have rolled back voting rights, restricted abortion rights and banned books […]
Takeaways from the House DFL’s tax plan
House Democrats released their tax package on Monday, proposing modest one-time tax rebate checks, exempting some Minnesotans from state tax on Social Security benefits and increasing taxes for the wealthiest Minnesotans. The tax plan’s release kicks off weeks of final negotiations over spending, tax cuts and increases amid the state’s $17.5 billion budget surplus. Senate […]
DFL lawmakers propose additional income tax tier targeting wealthy Minnesotans
House Democrats want to create a fifth state income tax tier that would increase taxes for the wealthiest Minnesotans. The bill, (HF442/SF678), would establish a 10.85% tax rate on a Minnesotan’s taxable income above $1 million for married joint filers; $600,000 for single filers; and $800,000 for heads of households. The additional income tax tier […]