Capitol View for January 13

Measures to combat the latest COVID-19 wave are coming fast and furious. More school districts are temporarily moving to remote learning because of rising infections and staff outages (Tim Nelson is keeping track). The Twin Cities’ mayors are imposing new vaccine-or-testing-proof requirements for restaurant diners and event attendees. (Read Jon Collins and Matt Sepic on the rules and timing.) The political fault lines around coronavirus mitigation haven’t changed much of late, but we’ll see soon if the broader public will embrace or be enraged over the steps.

Meanwhile, Gov. Tim Walz is shifting $40 million toward emergency hospital staffing as health facilities face their own crunch – from stubbornly high patient counts to sick staff. It comes out of a pot of money the Legislature gave Walz authority to spend on virus response, so it can be quickly put to use. There are questions about where the extra nursing staff and other hospital personnel will come from. Catharine Richert has details.

COVID will be a dominant issue in the 2022 legislative session as it was in 2021 and 2020. There’s even talk of lawmakers returning to work prior to the scheduled Jan. 31 start to get going on proposals to ease health care regulations as a pressure valve during omicron’s spread. Walz and legislative leaders are trading ideas for a special session agenda. Stay tuned.

It’s decision day for the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission. The panel that sets benchmarks to guide judges in determining criminal penalties could vote today on a plan that might leave some felons with less time in prison. The proposal is a political flashpoint, with Republicans loudly objecting to it as another example of a soft-on-crime policy they’ll campaign against this year. The Pioneer Press examines the arguments of proponents and opponents.

Loyal newsletter readers saw portions of my interview this week with Kendall Qualls, the latest entrant in the GOP race for governor. I spoke on Wednesday with Sen. Paul Gazelka, who has topped several straw polls since launching in September. (You’ll hear more on MPR News about the Republican jockeying next week.) There are excerpts to share apart from the broader coverage, though:

I’ll start with how we closed out our 28-minute phone call. Gazelka told me his gut tells him former President Donald Trump won’t endorse in the GOP race before the May party convention (some Trump’s campaign staffers are key members of other campaign teams). “I don't think he's going to endorse in Minnesota. And you know, from the time he was endorsed through his time as Republican president of the United States, I gave him my support. I wrote op-eds for him and I met him at the tarmac and did the work that you should do for your president. And so, at this point, I'm personally focused on winning this race by myself. I want to say that look, these are the things that I'm going to stand for and fight for. From the very beginning, when I announced on my website, I talked about public safety and education and the economy. Those are the three things that I think really everybody across the state wants to see. And I'll continue to do that. But just the fact that he lost in Minnesota, I don't know that he's spending a lot of time looking at the state. But we shall see.”

On the recent Qualls entrance, Gazelka said this: “I think he's late to this event. I got in September 8th and it took a lot of work to move delegates off of some of the front-running candidates at the time. Kendall Qualls ran for Congress and lost by 11 points. He's a decent man. And I think he cares deeply about our state, but hasn't proven that he can win or raise money or convince the delegates and those are all very important things that each one of us is vying to do.”

Gazelka relinquished his role as Senate majority leader prior to announcing his bid, making him a rank-and-file member during the upcoming session. “Now that I'm just one of the 34 (Republican) senators, what I do is I'm going to pick a few different pieces of legislation that I actually think would make a difference that we would have the potential to get done this year. And if not, I will carry them into the election as things that I think we should do. But I'll be a team player.”

Walz commissioner confirmations could again be a flashpoint, with Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm under continued threat. I asked Gazelka if wants her removed. While stressing it’ll be a caucus decision in the end, Gazelka expressed his personal view. “I'll just say I don't think she's doing her job well. Beyond that, it really is a caucus conversation. I'll leave it there.”

MPR’s Tim Pugmire spoke Wednesday with state Rep. Paul Marquart about his decision to exit the Legislature after 2022. Marquart, chair of the House tax committee, is one of few DFLers who represent a northwestern Minnesota district also won by Trump. He’s fended off stiff challenges in recent years with shoe-leather campaigning, breaking with his own party on some issues and by convincing voters to split their tickets. Marquart, a teacher, is serving his 11th term in the House and said he’s been thinking about retirement for a couple of years. “I just turned 65. I’ve been in elective office for 35 years since I first ran for Dilworth city council in 1987. And it is time to look at new things, and most important spend more time with the family and those grandchildren.” There are now 18 lawmakers in the House and Senate who have said they are not running again or that they are seeking another elected office.