WEEK SEVENTEEN: May 3, 2019
The Senate passed the 2019 Jobs, Energy, Commerce, Health and Human Services, Taxes, Transportation, and E12 bills this week. With their passage, all major budget bills have passed off both the House and Senate floors and are heading for conference committees. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman, and Governor Tim Walz agreed to provide conference committees with fiscal targets on May 6. Once the budget targets are established, negotiations between the very different budget bills will begin.
Budget bills reflect the state’s values. While the Senate DFL tried to improve the budget bills to help families, farmers, businesses, and schools, it is disappointing that too often the Republican majority’s budgets prioritized corporations, the wealthy, and insurance companies over the people of Minnesota. Senate DFLers are particularly concerned the Senate budget grossly underfunds schools, transportation, health care, and Minnesota’s judicial system. There is also disappointment in the Republicans’ irresponsible use of shifts and gimmicks to achieve their budget numbers. This smoke-and-mirrors way to budget will result in future unsustainable budget deficits. Continue reading “Senate DFL Week In Review: May 3, 2019”
