In the late hours of Sunday night, the legislative session came to a close. About 30 minutes before adjournment, Senate Democrats brought forward a mega-omnibus bill comprised of 8 other omnibus bills, including other unrelated provisions. The Senate President did not entertain debate or questions from Republican senators. Senator Michael Kreun (R-Blaine) released the following statement in response:

“In the last 30 minutes of session, Senate Democrats did the unthinkable and brought forward a 1432-page mega-omnibus bill, and failed to allow any debate. We had no chance to read the bill, no chance to debate the bill, and no chance to amend the bill. Democrats have a one-seat majority, which means Senate Republicans represent nearly 49% of voters throughout the state. We were all elected to be the voices of our constituents, and half of the state was shut out.

I’m incredibly disappointed in this process. Senate Democrats forced a vote on a bill we had not seen, and it does a disservice to the constituents we are all here to represent. It is our duty to vet legislation properly, so we can consider how our districts and constituents will be affected. This was not allowed and our constituents were completely abandoned by these egregious actions. It will take weeks to get through this bill to figure out all the new laws Senate Democrats passed in this one bill. There was no transparency in this process, and Minnesota deserves better.”