Legislative update - March 27, 2023 

Lobby Day attendees last week had a front row seat to see how the legislature continues at an incredibly fast pace this session.  

In a stunning feat, the House, Senate and Governor agreed to universal committee spending targets in the third week of March, breaking any known record for earliest agreement on targets. This means the Speaker of the House, Majority Leader of the Senate and the Governor agreed to the amount they will spend in each major governmental budget area. Over the next weeks, committees will work on the details, pass them through the full legislature in each body and then resolve disagreements in conference committees before final passage and signature by the Governor.  

The House and Senate State Government Finance and Labor committees sent their policy omnibus bills to the floor, both of which contain numerous PELRA protections and improvements. The committees will continue to pass separate omnibus policy and omnibus finance bills out of their respective committees before the legislative break on Tuesday, April 4.  

A ban on private prisons passed the House Floor on March 23, sending a message that profiting from incarceration is not welcome in Minnesota.  

In a bill to split Direct Care and Treatment from Department of Human Services and in a separate bill to create a Department of Children, Youth and Families, language has been added to protect employees in case of a transfer, ensuring classification and union protections would continue. We will continue to monitor these bills closely.  

Paid Family and Medical Leave passed another committee in the Senate and will likely move soon in the House as well. Cannabis legalization also continues to move through the House and Senate.  

Thank you to members who attended Lobby Day on March 23. If you would like to write your legislators about supporting MAPE priorities, you can find your legislator here: https://www.gis.lcc.mn.gov/iMaps/districts/ =