Note: this column ran recently in the Mankato Free Press
In the first paragraph of a recent editorial titled “GOP rejection of special session hurts outstate,” the Free Press asked “legislators of good faith” if they’re doing everything they can to deliver on critical needs for Minnesotans.
A fair request. The problem is that only one of the three negotiating parties – Senate Republicans – was operating in good faith during the regular session negotiations.
Here are the facts:
Throughout negotiations, Senate Republicans regularly provided offers that met the terms of a budget framework agreement released on May 16, 2022. These offers were within the budget agreement set, eliminated controversial policy items, and were released to the public for review.
Meanwhile, Gov. Walz cynically played games with Minnesotans.
One striking example took place in the State Government conference committee hours before we were scheduled to adjourn. The House DFL chair and the Senate Republican chair actually agreed to a compromise, but at the beginning of the hearing a ‘hot mic’ picked up the House DFL chair informing our Republican chair that he had received a call from the governor and was instructed to kill the agreement. The exchange was caught on video.
In return for our serious offers, we received counter offers that repeatedly showed Democrats’ unseriousness. Offers that were above the agreed-upon budgets. Offers that introduced controversial new policy items.
Over and over, House Democrats blew through deadlines this session. They only passed a bill to refill and pay back a federal loan to the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund on the day the tax payments were due for thousands of businesses, nearly 6 weeks after Senate Republicans did. They delayed the renewal of the highly successful reinsurance program until the day before the federal government required passage to approve a waiver for the program.
Senate Republicans were consistent and reasonable all year. We unveiled a strong agenda early in the session that focused on the issues most important to Minnesotans: public safety, affording life under skyrocketing inflation, and empowering parents. Our “Right Track” agenda would have put more good cops on the streets and retained talented law enforcement officers. It included the Biggest Tax Cut in state history. It would have added transparency and accountability in schools while reversing the state’s declining literacy rates. And it would have provided critical funding for nursing home staff, recruitment, and training.
Yes, Gov. Walz could call the legislature back for a special session. He is literally the only one who has that authority; neither the House nor the Senate has any power over that choice. And there are certainly a lot of things I would still love to get done, including the historic tax bill agreement that House Democrats stunningly refused to pass.
Given the behavior of Gov. Walz and House Democrats this year, I have a hard time believing they will suddenly take Minnesotan’s problems seriously during a special session.
But I am always willing to listen and have a conversation.