It’s finally Friday, and what a week (of fantastic weather) it has been!
I’m Brian Bakst, a political reporter here at MPR News, and I’m sitting in this week for Mike Mulcahy on Politics Friday . At noon, I’ll talk to U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar about the debt limit standoff, the Supreme Court and her 2024 re-election plans. And we’ll check in on the paid family and medical leave debate at the State Capitol.
A full day of debate is planned over budget bills on the Senate floor, including a public safety funding package. Tune in here.
The Minnesota House spent many hours yesterday debating an election policy bill. MPR’s Dana Ferguson kept tabs on it prior to the late-night, party-line vote. The bill would automate more aspects of voter registration, let 16- and 17-year olds pre-register to vote, set penalties for harassing or intimidating voters, require more disclosure of campaign spending by outside groups and prevent corporations with leadership outside the United States from contributing to political campaigns in Minnesota. DFL lawmakers at the Capitol have said the measure is one of their top priorities this year. “Minnesota has a strong tradition of inclusive democracy of strong local elections. And today, we're going to say we're going to protect and we're going to strengthen that,” said lead sponsor, Rep. Emma Greenman of Minneapolis. “We're going to be a North Star for states around the country, for people around the country who are asking in this moment, ‘What does American democracy look like?’” Republicans predicted it would spark lawsuits. Rep. Harry Niska said it steps on free speech and a successful constitutional challenge would “leave Minnesota taxpayers on the hook then to pay the legal fees of the challengers to this legislation.”
The DFL Senate and House are splitting when it comes to a proposed 75-cent delivery fee for food and many retail items. The fee to help pay for roadwork was stripped from a Senate transportation finance package . It was expected to generate at least $150 million a year. Senate Transportation Chair Scott Dibble said it would be a “tall order” for the fee to pass this year as a result. “It was taking a little more time to really work it through in terms of policy, and politically a lot of people didn't understand it. It had a lot of really valid critiques. So maybe it wasn't ready for passage at this point in time.” His counterpart, House Transportation Chair Frank Hornstein, said he wasn’t ready to throw in the towel; the fee remains in his bill awaiting a floor vote. “There's a long time to go,” he said. “And we have a conference committee where things get negotiated. And no, that's the beauty of our bicameral democratic system.”
As a marijuana legalization bill moves closer to House and Senate votes, opponents are hammering home their objections. A group that includes law enforcement, the state trucking association, doctors and others asked lawmakers to, at a minimum, wait another year or more to authorize adult-use cannabis. They ticked down health and safety questions lacking clear answers and doubted the state’s preparedness for a big shift in drug policy. Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Jorgensen said legal marijuana would be available well before there is a qualified test for driver impairment. “How can we keep the public safe when legalized marijuana is available that year and a half before the authorized test is even considered by the courts? Isn't that like buying a new car with all the safety features?” Some doctors raised concerns about youth addiction and what resources would be available to head off health problems they predicted would arise. Sponsors of the bill are continuing to fine-tune the legislation ahead of a pending vote.
A disaster contingency fund is likely to be restocked soon. The Senate unanimously passed a bill Thursday to put $40 million into the account and the House moved quickly hours later to get it to Gov. Tim Walz. The Star Tribune’s Jessie Van Berkel writes about planning by state and local leaders for spring flooding as melted snow raises river levels on both sides of Minnesota. "We are going into the heart of our flood season," said Twin Cities National Weather Service meteorologist-in-charge Dan Hawblitzel. "With this rapid warm-up, this rapid three-day-long summer we've got, that snow is rapidly melting and that snow has got to go somewhere. And it's going right into the rivers around the state.”
Minneapolis is on the hook for more big payouts related to former police officer Derek Chauvin’s treatment of people while on the squad. MPR’s Matt Sepic reports that the Minneapolis City Council on Thursday approved settlements totaling nearly $9 million with two people who alleged that Chauvin used excessive force against them. John Pope, 20, and Zoya Code, 40, sued the city last year, alleging that Chauvin kneeled on their necks in separate incidents in 2017. Chauvin killed George Floyd in 2020 by using a similar restraint. The former police officer is serving a prison sentence of 22 1/2 years for Floyd's murder and a concurrent federal sentence on related civil rights charges. Pope, who was 14 at the time of his encounter with Chauvin, settled for $7.5 million. Code settled for $1.375 million.
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