GOP, DFL Legislators Optimistic This Special Session Will Produce Results
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) -- Minnesota's Legislature is back at the State Capitol, but lawmakers say they'll wait a week to tackle the bigger issues left over from the last special session.
The good news is that legislators on both sides indicate progress is being made in closed door negotiations, but there is still a lot of unfinished business.
Both GOP Majority Leader Senator Paul Gazelka and DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman said the week delay would allow negotiations, which are making progress, to continue.
The legislature failed to pass any of the major bills during the last special session. That included bills on police reform, a $1.35 billion infrastructure, jobs and bonding bill, a tax bill, and relief for riot-torn Minneapolis and St. Paul.
On the most contentious issue, police reform, the leaders suggest a compromise is possible. Gazelka said a chokehold ban is one area where all sides seem to be in agreement, along with police officers' duty to intervene if they see another police officer acting in ways they're not supposed to.
"I don't think failure is an option on police reform and accountability. When we all watched the video of George Floyd's last minutes of life, something changed in us and in Minnesota," Hortman said.
Both sides also say they are actually close on the infrastructure, jobs and bonding bill, a bill considered vital to reviving Minnesota's COVID-battered economy.
Despite the threads of optimism, there are skeptics who wonder after a failed regular session this spring, a failed special session last month and now this special session can really mean that the third time can be the legislative charm.
As expected, Gov. Tim Walz did extend his emergency powers for another 30 days. The Republican-led Senate did vote today on ending those but the DFL-led House is expected as soon as tomorrow to allow those powers to remain in place.
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Here's a look at the key issues in play:
POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY
The House Democratic and Senate Republican majorities appeared to be far apart late last week on a package of police accountability measures in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police on Memorial Day. Democrats are still pushing for a sweeping slate proposed by the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus. Senate Republicans were willing to pass a more limited set of changes that included a ban on the use of chokeholds and requiring officers to intervene if they see a colleague using excessive force, but rejected several other Democratic proposals.
BONDING
A borrowing package to fund public construction projects across the state, known as a bonding bill, was at the top of the Legislature's agenda this year before the coronavirus crowded it out. The bill has yet to recover its lost momentum, though leaders have agreed on a cap of $1.35 billion that may include money for rebuilding parts of Minneapolis and St. Paul damaged in the unrest after Floyd's death.
Passing a bonding bill requires a three-fifths majority in each chamber. Getting that supermajority requires at least some House Republican and Senate Democratic votes. And that's where reaching deals gets really complicated.
In the House, Republican Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, of Crown, has softened on his earlier price for GOP votes: Walz giving up the emergency powers that he uses to respond to the pandemic. Daudt met with Walz staffers last week about his ideas for changing state statutes on emergency powers to give lawmakers more control, but reached no agreement.
And in the Senate, Democrats last week renewed their threat to withhold their votes unless Republicans agree to comprehensive policing accountability measures.
EMERGENCY POWERS
The governor first invoked his emergency powers during the regular session, which ended May 18. He can keep extending them in 30-day increments. But each time he does so he must summon lawmakers back so they get the chance to rescind his powers. That's why he had to call this special session. Republican efforts to void his special authority failed last month, and will as long as Democrats hold the House. Walz presumably will have to call his third special session of 2020 next month if he intends to keep those powers.
WILD CARDS
Senate Republicans are already framing policing issues for the fall campaign with hearings on the damage that ensued amid the protests over Floyd's death. Democrats, meanwhile, announced an ad campaign Friday targeting potentially vulnerable Senate Republicans over policing. Democrats need a net gain of just two seats to take control of the Senate.
House Republicans announced Friday that they'll try to push legislation during the special session to give local school districts authority to decide for themselves whether to reopen as usual this fall, use distance learning again or some hybrid of the two models. GOP Rep. Sondra Erickson, of Princeton, said they're ready to try to force a floor fight.
It wasn't clear Friday how long this special session will last. While governors have the power to call lawmakers back, each chamber decides when to adjourn.
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