Special Session ends with House’s refusal to compromise
The 2020 legislative session came to an end early in the morning on June 20. To be frank, it was one of the most frustrating and disappointing ends to a session that I can recall.
Remember: the sole reason for the special session was so that Gov. Walz could extend his emergency powers. I opposed that decision and voted to rescind his powers and restore regular checks and balances. Unfortunately, House Democrats upheld his powers.
But Senate Republicans decided to use the special session to try to get more work done. And initially, it looked like we were going to be successful, but the governor and the House decided to play politics.
Early in special session, House and Senate leaders from both parties reached an agreement on how to distribute federal COVID assistance to local governments. That bill passed the Senate by a vote of 62-4. The following day, House Democrats violated the agreement and added millions of dollars in new spending to the bill, because the governor was unhappy with the agreement. We continued to try to persuade them to honor the original deal, but their action effectively ended the bill’s chances of passing.
Police accountability is at the top of everyone’s mind. The Senate passed a series of bills with common sense ideas that had broad agreement, like banning chokeholds and requiring officers to intervene if they see excessive force. But those bills failed House Democrats were unwilling to back away from their controversial policies that lack support, like felon voting and dismantling police departments.
The state’s constitution stipulates a bonding bill must originate in the House, but they didn’t bring one up for a vote before the Senate adjourned. During the regular session, the Senate brought up a comprehensive infrastructure bonding bill that included a number of projects I spearheaded, including funding to rebuild township roads, funding for the Academies for the Deaf and Blind, and funding to fix Greater Minnesota roads and bridges. Unfortunately, there were not enough Democrat votes to support it.
Even other issues stalled in the House. The Senate unanimously approved a broadband bill that stakeholders all agreed on, but the governor decided he didn’t like it and held up the bill in the House. The Senate also unanimously passed a bill to eliminate the backlog of driver’s license tests. The House didn’t bring it up for a vote. The Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill to improve student reading with a new literacy training program, but the House added a number of controversial provisions when they got the bill, effectively killing it.
The special session wasn’t a complete loss, though: we passed a bill to provide assistance to businesses that have been harmed by the COVID pandemic, we passed a smart education policy bill that will improve education for students and their teachers, and we passed a number of other less headline-grabbing issues. These are all great things for Minnesota.
So, now we continue working. I am committed to reaching an agreement on these issues. We’ll keep working across the aisle, and if the House and governor show a willingness to compromise, then I have a feeling we will be back in the near future to get these things done.
If you have any questions or feedback, please contact me any time at sen.john.jasinski@senate.mn. It is a privilege serving as your senator.