Get it first in The Mesabi Tribune
In this column, I normally try to focus on the positive outcomes in the legislature. But there’s no way to sugarcoat the fact that the 2024 session came crashing to a chaotic close on Sunday night. With less than an hour to go, Democrats brought to the floor a 1,432-page bill that no one had time to read before they passed it.
The bill was extremely divisive and far reaching. It included provisions relating to taxes, transportation, housing, labor, agriculture, energy, human services, healthcare, paid leave, and gun control. The reason all these provisions were crammed into one bill is that Democrats had so mismanaged the calendar that they didn’t have time to pass most of their bills before session ended at midnight.
Keep in mind that Senate Democrats recessed for 11 hours Saturday to try and negotiate with one of their members on a bill related to ride sharing services in the Twin Cities. This was a full working day that we could have been passing bills with thorough debate, but rather than work with Republicans to pass bipartisan bills, they wasted an entire day negotiating with their member to keep his vote.
Even with the delay, we passed 17 bills off the Senate Floor the final days of session. Things were moving, there just wasn’t enough time after we lost a week of work following Sen. Nicole Mitchell’s arrest for first-degree burglary because Democrats refused to hold her accountable and allowed her to continue to vote. Again, they could have chosen bipartisanship, but instead, chose to rely on an alleged felon to pass their agenda.
On Sunday night, with just minutes to go, Democrats ignored the rules and jammed the giant bill through. Their effort to pass a $71 million bonding bill, another last-minute bill that no one had seen, failed when the vote was not completed before midnight. It really doesn’t get more egregious than that.
There were moments of bipartisan success this year. We worked together to return Student Resource Officers to school hallways, fix last year’s tax bill, and restore religious liberties. These all passed with broad support and while they took time, they came together in a way the benefits every Minnesotan. It goes to show that when we work together Minnesotans are better off.
I am glad the bipartisan work on Emergency Medical Service (EMS) funding led to a bill passing with unanimous support on the Senate floor. The bill provides $24 million in emergency aid for EMS providers who are focused on services in Greater Minnesota. Another $6 million is dedicated to an innovative sprint medic pilot program. However, the $30 million is just a fraction of what is needed. We could have solved this problem with much better funding last year, but Democrats had other priorities for the $18 billion surplus.
We know that rural EMS providers are not a luxury. Every Minnesotan deserves to have a quick response when they call 911, and that is getting more difficult each year. I co-authored a bill that would provide the needed $120 million to rural providers because until the federal government increases the reimbursement rates for Medicaid, we need to step up and keep this life-saving service funded. Next session is a budget year, and you can bet that I will be working on this issue to ensure that rural EMS isn’t just an afterthought.
I remain disappointed in how the session ended. While I’m sure there are some good things in the massive bill, I couldn’t in good conscience vote for something like that. People sent me here to work together and that’s not what happened this session. I am certain that the State will now face litigation challenging the bills they passed in violation of Senate rules and the State Constitution, not to mention the irreparable harm to bipartisanship when the minority is silenced like that. It could have all been avoided, but instead led to chaos at the end, and that’s something no one should be proud of.