There are just over two weeks until the 2021 legislative session is scheduled to conclude on Monday, May 17. This week, the legislature finished passing the remaining omnibus budget bills and the focus will now turn to the conference committee process. The higher education conference committee held two meetings this week.
There are just over two weeks until the 2021 legislative session is scheduled to conclude on Monday, May 17. This week, the legislature finished passing the remaining omnibus budget bills and the focus will now turn to the conference committee process.
As companion omnibus budget bills are passed off the floors of each chamber, five members of each body are selected to serve on a conference committee to reconcile the differences between the budget bills. Once the conference committee is able to reach a final agreement, they will develop a conference report that represents the final version of the budget bill. Then the conference report needs to be repassed by both the DFL-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate in order to be sent to Governor Walz for signature.
The higher education conference committee held two meetings this week. The focus was on discussing the similarities and differences between the House and Senate higher education omnibus budget bills. Members of the committee were able to adopt some of the identical provisions. Next Tuesday, the conference committee will hear from members of the public on their thoughts on the bill.