The Minnesota State Legislature is scheduled to adjourn on May 21, meaning only 10 more days of session remain. While many issues have come into focus, others are far from resolution, including major topics such as a supplemental budget agreement, a capital investment agreement, and a tax bill to conform Minnesota state law with the recently enacted federal tax bill.
The Minnesota State Legislature is scheduled to adjourn on May 21, meaning only 10 more days of session remain. While many issues have come into focus, others are far from resolution, including major topics such as a supplemental budget agreement, a capital investment agreement, and a tax bill to conform Minnesota state law with the recently enacted federal tax bill. Suffice it to say, much work is left to do.
Of key interest to the University of Minnesota is the status of the capital investment "bonding" bill to support U of M infrastructure investments systemwide. Late last week, the House released its bonding proposal, including $78.53 million for the University's four requested projects. This week, the Senate released its proposal, which includes $95.4 million for the University. View a comparison of the House, Senate, and governor's proposals.
The two chambers will likely attempt to pass these two bills next week, but passage is not guaranteed. A simple majority is not enough. Capital investment bills require a three-fifths majority vote in each chamber, in other words, 81 representatives and 41 senators. With the Senate split 34-33 and the House split 77-57, votes from the minority DFL party are needed to pass a bill in either the House or the Senate.
The supplemental budget bill is also moving forward in the House and Senate. Both chambers have passed their bills, and a conference committee is currently reconciling the differences. The University requested $10 million in recurring funds to hold tuition flat for resident undergraduate students at all campuses. The House supplemental budget bill includes $500,000, but the Senate bill does not include any funding for tuition relief. The governor has included the University's requested $10 million in his proposal, although only for one year.
Although May 21 is the last day of the session, by law the legislature cannot pass a bill on the day of adjournment. This means all bills must be passed by midnight on May 20. If a bill is passed in the last three days of session, the governor has 14 days to sign or veto it. If no action is taken on the bill in those 14 days, the bill is "pocket vetoed."