Bonding Bill

The Senate today rolled out a $998 million bonding bill, far smaller than what the trades are hoping for. This is the Senate’s starting point, so the floor in negotiations. They will consider the bill on the Senate floor tomorrow.

Walz Appoints Judge Gordon Moore to Minnesota Supreme Court

Governor Tim Walz today appointed Judge Gordon Moore to serve as the next associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Moore will fill the vacancy created upon the retirement of Justice David Lillehaug, who has served on the Supreme Court since 2013. Moore brings over 30 years of legal experience to the Court.

Walz Signs Executive Order on Summer Learning

Today, Governor Tim Walz signed Executive Order 20-57, authorizing and directing the Commissioner of Education to provide a safe and effective summer learning environment for Minnesota’s students. Minnesota’s public school districts and charter schools will have the option to offer summer learning through a hybrid model of distance learning and in-school learning, or to continue distance learning.

Walz Announces Next Phase of COVID-19 Response in Minnesota

Citing progress made to prepare for peak of infection, the Governor announced tonight that he will let Minnesota’s stay-at-home order expire on Sunday night as planned, and replace it with an order encouraging Minnesotans to stay close to home but allowing for gatherings of friends and family of 10 people or less. The Governor will also open retail stores and other main street businesses if they have a social distancing plan and operate at 50 percent occupancy. Dine-in restaurant restrictions and closures of salons, gyms, large crowd venues will remain for at least a couple more weeks, with June 1 as a potential reopen date following specific guidance from state officials.

Legislative Activity for May 12, 2020

Today, the Minnesota Senate convened for a floor session and passed four bills.

Walz Signs New Executive Order

Today, Governor Tim Walz signed Executive Order 20-52, allowing students in critical care sectors to attend classes for needed in-person training or testing in order to graduate.

Walz Press Briefing

This afternoon, Governor Tim Walz and administration officials held a conference call with reporters to update the public on state efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Walz Press Briefing

This afternoon, Governor Tim Walz and Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm held a press conference to update the public on state efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minnesota Senate Passes Four Bills

Today, the Minnesota Senate convened at 11:00 a.m. and passed four bills.

State Budget Officials Project $2.426 Billion Deficit

Today, Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released an interim budget projection. The report states that Minnesota’s budget and economic outlook has significantly worsened since the coronavirus pandemic. A deficit of $2.426 billion is now projected for the current biennium, which is almost a $4 billion change compared to the February forecast. Revenues are expected to be $3.611 billion lower and spending, including appropriations enacted since February, is expected to be $391 million higher. The $2.359 billion budget reserve remains available to mitigate the budgetary impact of the crisis. Given the uncertainty about the path of pandemic, the economic outlook will remain volatile for some time.