Legislative Update April 13, 2023

As the legislature returned from their Spring Break on Tuesday, April 11, they are entering the next phase of the legislative session. In this phase, large omnibus finance bills will be heard and amended in the Ways and Means Committee in the House and the Finance Committee in the Senate. They will then advance to the Floor of their respective bodies. If the bills passed off their respective bodies do not match, they will then head to conference committees to hammer out any differences before final passage. The deadline for completion of the legislative session is May 22.  

In addition to the Omnibus Finance Bills which will make up the state budget, Paid Family and Medical Leave continues to move as a stand-alone bill. We hope to see it pass the House and Senate in the next weeks and then move to conference committees. Unlike in other states, we are glad to see public sector employees included in this bill.  

On Wednesday, April 12, the House took up and passed House File 2073, the Omnibus Higher Education finance bill. The proposal includes funding for the Office of Higher Education and for Minnesota State system office and campus stabilization. The bill also includes an increase to employer contribution for the individual retirement account plan (IRAP) to match the TRA pension level. 

The House is anticipated to take up and pass House File 3 on Thursday, April 13, a bill that will help strengthen the freedom to vote with provisions like automatic voter registration, protect our elections through multilingual materials and election judges, as well as protections for voters against intimidation and harassment, and increase transparency with additional disclosure for those groups participating in electoral activity.