Ewald at the Capitol

Two Weeks Left for Legislative Session

With about two weeks left in the legislative session, the House and Senate continue to hold lengthy floor sessions to debate, amend and pass their large omnibus bills. These bills are a chance for legislators to pass the legislative priorities set at the beginning of the session. This process will continue in the next few weeks as the legislature and the governor work to reach a final agreement on the budget.

This week started off with Gov. Walz signing the Unemployment Insurance trust fund/frontline worker pay bill. The Senate hit the ground running on Monday with floor debate on their Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill. The House did not convene on Monday in observance of Eid al-Fitr, which marked the end of Ramadan. More information about other bills heard this week can be found below.

Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill

On Tuesday, the House debated the Health and Human Services Omnibus bill (HF 4706). This bill combined three bills into one: the omnibus human services bill (HF 4579); the omnibus health bill (HF 4706) and articles 1-4 from the omnibus early childhood bill (HF 4735). In total, the bill would appropriate $768 million for FY22-23. This includes $270.7 million for health programs and $478.7 million for human services and early childhood programs. The bill passed with a vote of 69-64. A conference committee will be appointed to work out the differences between SF 4410 as passed by the Senate last Tuesday.

The Senate passed its Health and Human Services Omnibus bill with a vote of 61-5. The Senate bill appropriates $1 billion for long-term care, personal care, and disability waiver service rate increases; $322 million rescue package to address staffing crisis in care facilities; $90 million rate increases for skilled nurse visits, home health aide visits, home care nursing, and home care therapy services.

Tax Omnibus Bill

The House passed its Omnibus Tax Bill this week. Not surprisingly, the House and Senate are very far apart in their tax proposals. The House bill proposes $1.6 billion in tax reductions and credits with a strong focus on providing $372.6 million in tax relief for renters by converting Minnesota’s renter’s credit into a refundable income tax credit.

The Senate tax reduces the first-tier tax rate for all filers from 5.35 percent to 2.80 percent, and fully eliminates the state income tax on all Social Security benefits. The bill provides $8.43 billion in tax relief over the next three years. The bill would also conform the state with federal IRS Code through Dec. 31, 2020. The Senate bill contains many fewer provisions than the House bill — though an additional tax bill is moving in the Senate that will likely include property tax and other tax provisions not included in the first Senate tax bill.

Omnibus Bills Passed by the House and Senate This Week

This week, the House and Senate processed the last of the supplemental budget bills. The House and Senate will now appoint five conferees from each chamber to serve on conference committees to negotiate the differences between each bill. Here are the highlights of the bills passed this week:

Monday:

Senate:

SF 3975 State Government, Veterans, Pensions and Transportation

Tuesday:
Senate:

SF 4410 Omnibus Health and Human Services Policy and Supplemental Appropriations

House:

H F 4300 Omnibus Supplemental E-12 Education Appropriations

Wednesday:
Senate:

SF 3510 Omnibus Higher Education Policy and Supplemental Appropriations

House:

HF 4355 Omnibus Jobs, Energy and Commerce Policy and Supplemental Appropriations
HF 3669 Omnibus Tax Bill

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