(C) Minnesota Reformer This story was originally published by Minnesota Reformer and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Legislative week-in-review: Kitchen sink edition [1] ['Max Nesterak', 'Michelle Griffith', 'Deena Winter', 'More From Author', '- April'] Date: 2023-04-28 The Legislature is coming down the home stretch and passing the massive omnibus bills that we can be truly confounding to the regular folks among us. Here’s are some of the highlights of this busy week: The Senate is debating a bill legalizing recreational marijuana today ( HF100 ). The House passed a similar bill earlier this week. If passed, the two chambers would have to work out the differences in their versions, which include how much a person can possess, how much it’s taxed and if local governments can limit the number of distributors. The House and Senate have now both passed omnibus health finance bills ( HF2930 ) that include a public buy-in option for MinnesotaCare and language giving nurses more power over staffing levels. The House version repeals many regulations on abortion (many of which have been ruled unconstitutional by a Minnesota district court), while the Senate version doesn’t. The House on Thursday passed its tax package ( HF1938 ), which includes one-time rebate checks, child tax credits and the creation of a fifth income tax tier. The Senate will likely debate its bill ( SF1811 ) on Monday. Here are some differences between the two tax packages. The House passed the Judiciary and Public Safety budget bill ( SF2909 ) on Wednesday. It includes funding for law enforcement recruitment and retention; juvenile justice reforms; extreme-risk (or red flag) protection orders; and criminal background checks on all gun sales. The bill now advances to a conference committee with the Senate, which funded the gun control measures but did not include the policies. The Democracy for the People Act ( SF3 ) passed the Senate and is on its way to the governor. The bill allows 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote, includes automatic voter registration, and allows voters to sign up for on a permanent absentee ballot list. The Senate also passed an elections policy bill ( SF1362 ) that requires more reporting of political ads to the state by expanding the definition to include verbiage that is the “functional equivalent” of express advocacy. And it bans political spending in elections by “foreign-influenced” corporations. It now moves to a conference committee with the House. Both chambers have passed housing and homelessness prevention omnibus bills ( HF2335 ). There are some differences in how each allocates their $1 billion budget targets, but the main conflict will be over a .25% metro-wide sales tax to fund rental assistance. The House version has it but the Senate does not. The Senate and House passed large labor budget bills ( SF3035 ) which include creating a nursing home standards board and new protections for meatpacking workers. The House version has a provision that would make general contractors liable for wage theft by their subcontractors, which the Senate has not yet passed. The Senate version has a ban on non-compete agreements, which the House hasn’t yet passed. They’ll work out the differences before it heads to the governor. Both the House and Senate passed new regulations on refinery worker standards , which will head to the governor’s desk. The Senate and House have now both passed education finance omnibus bills ( HF2497 ). The Senate’s education plan includes an increase to the general education formula by 4% next year and 5% in fiscal year 2025. The House’s education plan increased the formula by 2% in fiscal year 2024 and 4% in fiscal year 2025, but it ties the formula to inflation in the following years, with an increase cap of 3% annually. Both plans include funding to increase special education and English language funding for school districts The Senate passed a $1 billion package for transportation projects ( HF2887 ) without the 75-cent package delivery fee that the House version has. The Senate version does have a .5% metro-wide sales tax to fund public transit, while the House’s version has a .75% tax. Gov. Tim Walz signed three bills Thursday: One seeks to protect trans people who come here from other states for gender-affirming care; another aims to protect people who come here for abortions ; and a third bans conversion therapy for minors and vulnerable adults. [END] --- [1] Url: https://minnesotareformer.com/2023/04/28/legislative-week-in-review-kitchen-sink-edition/ Published and (C) by Minnesota Reformer Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/MnReformer/