I hope you and your family had a safe and relaxing July 4th! The mild weather we’ve had has been perfect for getting out into our community and exploring all our state has to offer.
Session ends
On July 1st the Minnesota House of Representatives finished approving a new two-year state budget and adjourned for the year. The Minnesota House, controlled by Democrats, and the Minnesota Senate, controlled by Republicans, convened for a special session on June 14th to finalize a bipartisan budget agreement and avoid a state government shutdown on July 1st.
As the only divided legislature in the nation we had an almost monumental task ahead of us this session. I am pleased that we managed to find a compromise which balances the budget, provides tax relief for the small businesses and workers who were hit hardest by the pandemic; and still invests significantly in education, healthcare, public safety and infrastructure. Our community has a ways to go before it returns completely to normal, but I am confident that we are well on our way with this final budget agreement. I look forward to seeing you all in the interim.
Early Thursday morning, we adjourned the Minnesota House after passing our last budget bills and the Taxes Omnibus Bill. We were able to deliver strong bipartisan budget bills to ensure that Minnesotans have accessibility and a good quality of life. Our budget invests in the success of our State and its people. It delivers a tax bill that supports business by investing in grants and by not taxing any of the PPP loans that businesses received to stay afloat during the pandemic. I am proud to report that yesterday, Gov. Walz finished signing all 2021 budget bills into law.
Over the past few weeks, we have been able to pass several key bipartisan budgets in a number of areas to ensure Minnesotans can access resources, investments and recover from the impacts of this pandemic. If you’d like to get caught up on the bills we’ve passed the last two weeks, you can find nonpartisan summaries of the bills and the process around them here:
We’ve just begun debate on the Taxes budget bill in the House, and today is the last day of this special session. It’s been a long couple of weeks (and a long year and a half!) but we’ve made a lot of progress and put forward a bipartisan state budget that will help Minnesotans bounce back from the struggles of the Covid-19 pandemic. With historic investments in education, an orderly end to the peacetime emergency, support for workers and small businesses, funding for childcare, measures to provide housing security, and so much more – everyone can find something to like in this budget.
As the only divided state legislature in the nation, compromise was necessary, but we also proved that coming together for the betterment of our state is still something that can be done in today’s political climate.
There’s a lot to cover in these bills – what’s in them, what’s not – so I’m excited to share that I’ll be joining Sen. Cwodzinski and Rep. Pryor for a District 48 Town Hall to take your questions and talk about our budget. We’ll be holding the event virtually, streaming live on our Facebook pages on Tuesday, July 6, from 9:30-10:30am. Grab a cup of coffee and tune in to start the short holiday week!
As we’ve done in the past, you can submit questions ahead of time here. We do ask that you provide your name and address, that way we can be sure we’re hearing from and prioritizing constituents’ comments and concerns.
If you’d like to get caught up on the bills we’ve passed the last two weeks, you can find nonpartisan summaries of the bills and the process around them here:
More Minnesotans have been getting vaccinated and COVID cases are going down, but it was also the recent compromises reached in St. Paul that enabled us to safely and effectively vote to end the peacetime emergency. With a deal struck with the US Department of Agriculture on emergency food assistance, and an eviction moratorium off-ramp included in our Housing budget, we’re ensuring that ending this peacetime emergency doesn’t just gain us a new crisis.
It’s good to be back on the House floor, voting for housing
The eviction moratorium off-ramp included in our Housing budget provides both renters and landlords with the time and resources they need to make them whole. If you or someone you know has been struggling with rent payments because of the pandemic, I recommend checking out renthelpmn.org.
God Bless the U.S.A.
We will celebrate Independence Day this coming weekend, and I wish you and yours a Happy Fourth of July! Our Eden Prairie Hometown Celebration is back after a 2020 hiatus, and I look forward to seeing many of you at the festivities Friday through Sunday at our community parks.
Stay Connected
With the special session and the peacetime emergency over, we’re not scheduled to return to the House floor until the 2022 Legislative Session. Until then, I anticipate seeing many of you at school functions, on local parks and trails, enjoying restaurants and shops, or at your front door!
Please continue to reach out to me with any questions you may have on the bills we passed this year, the work that still needs to be done, or any ideas you may have for Eden Prairie and Minnesota. The best way to touch base is through email (rep.carlie.kotyza-witthuhn@house.mn) or phone (651/296-7449). I look forward to hearing from you.
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Today, Monday June 28, the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus (POCI) introduced a number of amendments to the Public Safety and Judiciary budget bill. This is in response to the absence of several necessary accountability measures in the current bill language. The POCI Caucus is also calling on Governor Walz to use his executive authority to enact several reforms. The POCI Caucus released the following statement.
“Minneapolis, Minnesota is the recent epicenter of a racial justice reckoning happening across the United States. After the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Derek Chauvin, people from all backgrounds took to the streets demanding change. Unfortunately the changes sought by so many, that would help diminish the killing of BIPOC people at the hands of the police, did not emerge.
“During the regular session and through the special session, the POCI Caucus and members of the House DFL Public Safety Committee worked tirelessly to move meaningful police accountability policies in negotiations with the Senate Republican Majority who refused to hold bad actors accountable. The bill as posted does not include the significant changes to hold police accountable or to prevent future harm.
Comments on the removal of the Refinery Safety Amendment in the Finance Committee after receiving 50 “yea” votes on the Senate floor.
A weekly message from your Senator
Dear Constituents and Friends,
We are amid a Special Session at the Capitol to settle budget negotiations. With the looming government shutdown, I continue to work with my colleagues to reach agreements. The Senate Finance Committee has had the most action out of all committees during Special Session. Each bill must pass through the committee to assess funding and review spending before heading to the floor. We have met almost every day since the beginning of the Special Session on June 16th, where we tackle budget bills. I will go into detail about some of the budget bills below and the status of the bills. To stop the government from shutting down, we need to pass our budget bills by July 1st. Each day that we wait to finish budget bills, the state of Minnesota spends more money preparing for the potential shutdown. Government employees have received their layoff notices, and nobody wants to see that. I have heard stories about people not being able to refinance their home or purchase a home because they have a layoff notice. The Minnesota Senate has efficiently passed bills through our chamber while the House minority continues to stall the process in the House. It is unacceptable, Minnesotans expect us to get our work done efficiently, and we are still here waiting.
Our regular session came to an end last month, however, our work for the year is far from over as we approach a special session set for next week. House and Senate leaders and Governor Walz have reached a budget agreement that we are using as guidelines in our conference committee negotiations. We have reached agreements on our Energy/Commerce, Taxes, Higher Ed, Agriculture, and Legacy Finance budgets. Some of the more contentious bills like E-12 Education and Public Safety still have a ways to go however. Details on the overall budget agreement and what the special session will look like can be found here.
Eviction Off-Ramp
It is critical that we prevent a massive housing crisis as we begin to return to normal. The House DFL proposed a common sense plan to give everyone the time they need to catch up on their rent and mortgage. Watch our press conference to learn more about our plan. It was announced today that we have reached a final agreement. Under the agreement, Governor Walz’s executive order on an eviction moratorium will be replaced by a stepped-down off-ramp that will conclude 105 days after enactment. Landlords will be required to send a notice to renters with outstanding rent 15 days prior to eviction. In addition, renters with an outstanding rental assistance claim cannot be evicted and will have that protection until June 1, 2022. If you are behind on housing payments, apply for aid here.
About two weeks ago, the Star Tribune published an editorial entitled “Good government needed at capital”. It was a thought-provoking piece and I’ve been reflecting on it ever since. It’s worth going back and reading if you missed it. John Kaul, a longtime observer of the legislative process observed that “it used to be that almost every bill went through multiple hearings that looked into everything,” he said. “Every detail. Every group heard from.” “Policy deadlines were real, he said, so that bills could finish in time for conference committees to take the several weeks needed to negotiate differences in House and Senate bills.” Separately, House Speaker Melissa Hortman observed that, perhaps, the world has grown too complicated for the legislature to accomplish its work within the bounds of a constitutionally defined session which was established in a much simpler agrarian era when it was important that the legislature adjourned in time for farmers to attend to their fields over the summer. In the previous session, the legislature set two records. The first was for the most number of bills introduced in a session (over 6000). The second was for the least number of bills passed into law during a session in the modern era. The Covid 19 epidemic, which truncated the 2020 session, had a lot to do with that. Even so, there is no way that even a fraction of those bills was ever going to be put through the multi-stop committee process described by John Kaul.
Saint Paul, Minnesota — Today, May 25, is the first anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. The Minnesota People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus released the following statement:
“We must ask ourselves: What has truly changed since last year? The fact remains that another name continues to replace George Floyd. Black men are still dying at the hands of law enforcement. Trust between our communities of color and police remains at record lows. BIPOC communities still do not feel that police keep them safe. Republican colleagues continue to devalue our lived experience and the experience of our communities as they use our calls for change as bargaining chips to secure tax cuts for the wealthy.
“Yet, we know we can never return to a world before the murder of George Floyd, our mindset on how our communities are affected by police and what role they play in our safety has permanently shifted. Whether this is a true sea change that will impact our entire nation remains to be seen. While the murderer was held accountable, and we managed to pass a modicum of police accountability legislation last year, we are meeting increased resistance from the status quo against our calls for more significant reforms.
The Senate District 49 Town Hall in coordination with the League of Women Voters of Edina, has been rescheduled. It will now occur on Monday, June 28, at 7:00 PM. The Town Hall will occur on Zoom, and we will make sure it is live-streamed and posted on each legislator’s Facebook page for those unable to join us.
Due to negotiations projected to go into the next two weeks and very few final deals being complete, we are postponing tonight’s Town Hall to Monday, June 28 at 7pm. This new date will ensure we are able to update the community on final end-of-session policy and budget decisions for all of Minnesota.
While the event will occur on Zoom, we will make sure it is live-streamed and posted on each legislator’s Facebook pages for those unable to join us. You can register for the event by clicking this link. Pre-submitted questions will be given priority and you will receive a link to the Zoom meeting a day before the event through the email you enter during registration.
