Last Week Senate Democrats failed to find bipartisan support to pass a bonding bill off the senate floor. The bill requires a 3/5 majority vote, which is 41 votes and required 7 Republican senators to vote for the bill. It failed to gain even one favorable Republican vote.

“We had an opportunity to pass tax relief alongside a bonding bill today, but Senate Democrats didn’t want to work in a bipartisan way, they instead were more interested in bullying Republicans,” said Senator Nathan Wesenberg (R-Little Falls). “While outstate Minnesotans need drinking water, flushable toilets, and critical projects, the Democrats want to borrow money to build parks and trails in the metro. We have a historic surplus, yet the bill Democrats brought forward puts nearly $2 billion on the state’s credit card. Minnesotans want tax relief, and that should be the number one priority—that’s what Republicans are fighting for.”

After failing to pass the bonding bill, the Senate immediately voted to reconsider the bill and lay it on the table. This procedural move allows the bill to be brought up again without having to go through the committee process.  

Two weeks ago, Senate Republican Leaders made clear they needed to see movement on tax relief before they voted for a bonding bill. Last week, Republicans attempted to bring a bill to eliminate the tax on Social Security to the floor, which was defeated on a party-line vote. Senate Democrats also brought their own bill to eliminate the tax on Social Security in a procedural vote to move it one step forward. However, Democrats failed to take the bill up for an actual vote that would pass it off the Senate floor and send it to the House for consideration.