The Minnesota State Legislature has adjourned until Tuesday, April 14. During this extended recess the legislature will continue working by alternative means, but there will be no standing committee meetings or floor sessions. Legislators will meet on an on-call basis for emergency response and preparedness for COVID-19.
The Minnesota State Legislature has adjourned until Tuesday, April 14. During this extended recess the legislature will continue working by alternative means, but there will be no standing committee meetings or floor sessions. Legislators will meet on an on-call basis for emergency response and preparedness for COVID-19. The focus of their work for the remainder of session, which ends on May 18, will now fall into three buckets: COVID-19 response, mission critical issues like capital investment, and agreed upon bipartisan issues not necessarily related to coronavirus.
Yesterday, the House and Senate passed a COVID-19 response bill. The $200 million funding provides front line response by allocating $50 million to the public health contingency account and $150 million to the Minnesota Department of Health to make grants to eligible providers for costs related to planning and preparing for, or responding to, an outbreak of COVID-19.
While the State Capitol remains open, access is restricted. The Senate and House offices are accessible by appointment only, with the majority of legislators and staff working remotely.