The Legislature ended its business last night at 11:59 pm. No bonding bill (special session), no tax bill (special session), no collective bargaining agreement with state employees (special session).
In the last days of the Legislative session, there was an effort by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (Housing First Minnesota) to roll back the recent updates in the Building Code (Building, Energy, Mechanical, Elevator, etc.) and revert to the last code and prevent any code changes until 2026. It did not pass both houses, but it will be back in the special session.
See the theme?
The Governor is given 14 days after he is presented with any bills passed during the last three days of the session to sign or veto.
Any continuation of the Governor’s executive order would require him to call a special session of the Legislature. Watch for both during the second week of June. There is likely to be a bonding bill $1 - 1.5 billion before summer ends. They will also take up any tax issues, but that is severely constrained by the budget deficit. Any adjustments to the state budget (which ends June 2021) would also take place in a special session. And, lastly right now any federal dollars that come into Minnesota can be spent by the Governor with advice from a special Legislative committee. Republicans want more say in how the federal dollars are spent.
-Gary Thaden, MMCA Government Affairs 651-646-2121
