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It appears that this could be the final day of the 2014 legislative session. Over the past 24 hours, legislative leaders agreed on the final language for the bonding bills, the second omnibus tax bill, supplemental omnibus budget bill and medical marijuana bill. At the time of publication, the House and Senate were holding long floor sessions in an attempt to complete final passage of the bills and adjourn the session sine die.
Bonding Bills
The primary focus for legislators in the second year of each legislative biennium is to pass a capital investment bonding bill. All four legislative leaders reached an agreement with Governor Mark Dayton late Thursday evening to pass two bills that total more than $1 billion for public infrastructure projects spread across Minnesota.
HF2490, authored by Representative Alice Hausman (DFL-St. Paul), is an $846 million general obligation bonding capital investment bill, funding numerous projects that include $279 million for the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, $126 million to continue restoration of the State Capitol, and $21.5 million for the renovation of Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. HF1068, also authored by Representative Hausman, spends a total of $200 million in cash for projects that include $22 million for the Lewis and Clark water pipeline in southwest Minnesota and $35 million for the expansion of the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester.
Once the deal was released around 9 p.m. on Thursday, it took a relatively short amount of time for the bills to pass through the legislative bodies. Around 3 a.m., the House passed HF2490 by a vote of 92-40 and HF1068 by a vote of 82-50. The Senate passed the bills at 9 a.m., HF2490 by a vote of 47-17 and HF1068 by a vote of 44-19. The bills will now travel to the governor's desk for final approval.
Second Omnibus Tax Bill
The second omnibus tax bill conference committee adopted a final report which sent the bill to the House late Thursday evening. HF3167, authored by Representative Ann Lenczewski (DFL-Bloomington) and Senator Rod Skoe (DFL-Clearbrook), includes several property tax provisions and specific sales tax exemptions. It also adopts federal tax policies, various tax increment financing provisions for municipalities and "unsession" provisions to eliminate redundant or unnecessary laws and regulations currently in law.
A change was made at the end of the conference committee process that allows local officials to sell bonds to fund the remaining share of $45 million in project costs for the Lewis and Clark water pipeline in southern Minnesota. The late addition to the tax bill helped to secure Republican votes for passage of the bonding bill which was the primary holdup in the negotiations.
Supplemental Budget Omnibus Bill
Early Friday morning, the supplemental budget conference committee completed its work and adopted the final report on a $283 million spending package. The budget includes funding for early childhood and K12 education, home and community based health workers and rural broadband. The bill will also provide debt service for the renovation of the University of Minnesota's Bell Museum of Natural History.
The Toxic Free Kids Act, which ultimately was not included in the bill, proved to be a point on contention in budget negotiations. The Governor told committee chairs Representative Lyndon Carlson (DFL-Crystal) and Senator Cohen (DFL-St. Paul) to include the provision in the bill. During committee, Senator Cohen stated the House Republicans would not provide the necessary votes to pass a bonding bill if the Toxic Free Kids Act was included.
Medical Marijuana
On Thursday afternoon, bill authors Representative Carly Melin (DFL-Hibbing) and Senator Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) announced that they had reached a compromise with Governor Dayton regarding legalization of medical marijuana. The agreement would allow parents to obtain medical marijuana for their child without going through the designated caregiver process and allow group home or nursing home patients to have more than one designated caregiver. The bill would start a patient registry study for people with defined medical conditions and create an observational study on the impact of medical marijuana. The House and Senate are scheduled to debate the legislation later today.
Social Media Updates
The government relations team at Faegre Baker Daniels has launched a Twitter account to provide live updates and information of news and events happening at the Capitol. Make sure to follow us at @FaegreBD_MNGov to receive our tweets.