Monday marked the first day of the 2022 legislative session. With election-year politics and redistricting looming in the background, the DFL-controlled House and GOP-controlled Senate have differing opinions over how to spend the state’s $7.7 billion surplus. Though there seems to be consensus that the Legislature should adopt a bonding bill this session, there are disagreements over how large that bill should be and the mix of projects it should include.
Operations: In-person, remote or hybrid?
Like they have for all or part of the last two sessions, operations at the Capitol will look different than ever before. Each chamber continues to grapple with how to maintain full operations as COVID-19 lingers on. This year, CGMC members should be aware there will be significant differences in the operations of the House and Senate that may impact how you interact with your own legislators.
For instance, the House has made it clear they will be operating primarily remotely this session. While more members may be in their offices and on the House floor than were physically present in 2021, Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) has announced she intends to keep the State Office Building closed to the public throughout the entire session, citing COVID-19 and safety concerns. Senate operations will be more of a hybrid. Senate committees will hold in-person hearings at the Minnesota Senate Building, which will be open to the public with some capacity restrictions and distancing measures. Similarly, the public will be allowed into the Senate building for meetings with individual senators, but only by appointment and with a staff escort into the building. Some senators may enforce limits on the number of individuals attending any given meeting.
House holds 35 hearings, Senate holds 5
Meanwhile, the House began session at an ambitious pace. House committees are scheduled to hold 35 hearings throughout the first week, compared to the Senate holding just five. The legislation moving early in both chambers is tailored to grab headlines and establish caucus priorities. This includes a DFL effort led by Rep. Dan Wolgamott (DFL-St. Cloud) to pass HF 2656. The bill would extend a presumption that frontline workers who contract COVID-19 did so in the line of their employment and are presumed covered by workers’ compensation. This would revive a presumption that was put in place earlier in the pandemic but expired at the end of 2021.
The Senate is squarely focused on passing legislation that would have Minnesota repay the federal government the more than $1 billion the state owes after borrowing it to replenish its Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, which was depleted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Proponents of the legislation argue that it is essential to move quickly on this, because employers are required to pay quarterly unemployment taxes into the fund. If the legislature does not act to repay this debt, rates passed along to employers could increase significantly. There is bi-partisan agreement that this issue needs to be addressed but with varying approaches and levels of urgency.
Stay tuned
Stay tuned to the “news” section of the CGMC website for developments from the 2022 legislative session. Contact the CGMC at cgmc_communications@flaherty-hood.com with any questions about how to stay in touch with your legislators during the ever-changing operations at the Capitol.
