Capitol Letter for August 5, 2020
The Capitol Letter™ is a recurring publication that provides reports from LWVMN on what is happening in the current legislative session. Usually we do longer and more periodic reports in a PDF format, but there aren't many updates from this year's session. Instead, we’re providing some very brief updates in this blog post.
COVID-19 and the Legislature
Due to COVID-19, the regular legislative session went on hiatus in order to avoid spreading infection. After a couple weeks, the Legislature was able to figure out some work-arounds: Committee hearings could be held virtually through Zoom; floor debates would require social distancing and some virtual attendance; and legislators could vote by proxy by calling their vote into the caucus leader.
The legislature began to focus almost entirely on COVID-19 emergency responses, including protecting the economic stability of the state. During the first special session, they passed several bills providing grants and loans to businesses affected by COVID-19 and its economic fallout.
Because the Governor has renewed his peacetime state of emergency, he is required to call the legislature back into special session every 30 days to give them an opportunity to override the state of emergency. DFL have shown little interest in overriding it; whereas GOP have tried to override it multiple times. Both chambers must override him, so it appears his state of emergency will continue until he ends it himself.
Black Lives & Police
The legislature also discussed how to handle any response to protests and civil unrest during late May and early June. They discussed not only economic assistance to businesses and residents affected by fires or other damage, but also reforms to the licensing, regulation, and management of police officers. The legislature failed to come to an agreement during the first special session in June, but did agree to a package on police reform during the second special session in July.
Bonding
As is customary during years that end in an even number, the legislature has tackled a potential bonding bill. A bonding bill authorizes the government to take on debt to pay for projects, usually local and state infrastructure, including roads, bridges, water treatment facilities, public education buildings, and much more. It brings construction and labor jobs to the local economy and spurs economic activity and stability. A bonding bill also requires passage of three-fifths of each legislative chamber, rather than a simple majority. Unfortunately, the legislature was unable to come to an agreement on a bonding bill. It will likely continue to try to come to a compromise later this year.
League Priorities
The legislature’s energy has been almost exclusively focused on COVID-19, racial equity, and police reform. Therefore, LWVMN’s priorities have not received much attention. .
Redistricting Reform - We had been continually working on drafting legislation, but COVID-19 put that work to a halt.
Restore the Vote - Restoration of voting rights had been discussed as part of the police reform package. House DFL had included it in their initial legislation packages. However, due to opposition from Senate GOP, it was not included in the final compromise.
Legislative Transparency - LWVMN has not been able to work much on this priority. However, legislative transparency has taken a huge hit due to COVID-19 and the civil unrest. Access to the Capitol had been restricted, and even fenced off. Negotiations during special session continue to be between leadership behind closed doors late at night, rather than in the open and during the day.
Voter Empowerment - LWVMN was successful in getting legislation passed to provide funding to local governments to carry out our elections. Small tweaks to election law were also made to protect our elections from COVID-19. We were unable to get everything we had hoped for, but overall did well given the circumstances.
Future Special Sessions
The governor will continue to call the legislature back into session every 30 days until his state of emergency ends. The legislature will likely address bonding in the next special session, which will be the third special session of the year. It is not yet known whether there will be additional special sessions or whether any other topics will be addressed by legislation.