Hot dish 05/02/24

By Briana Bierschbach

Dilatory was the word of the day Wednesday if you, like me, spent more than an hour listening to the Minnesota Senate tangle over a fairly simple question: is state Sen. Nicole Mitchell currently a member of the Senate DFL caucus?

Republicans were trying to get to the bottom of that to back up their argument that the Minnesota Senate is now technically a chamber divided 33-33-1, with two minority caucuses and a caucus of just Mitchell after DFLers announced she was removed from caucus meetings following her arrest.

If that was indeed the case, Republicans wanted there to be equal numbers of GOP and DFL members seated on some committees, per chamber rules.

Republicans asked three different members, including Mitchell, whether she was currently a member of the DFL caucus. Mitchell responded “no thank you” to whether she would yield for a question. Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy said multiple times that Mitchell is no longer participating in caucus meetings and confirmed to reporters afterward that she’s still a member of their caucus.

Democrats accused Republicans of using procedural delay tactics (see: dilatory) and rejected several motions on a 34-33 vote, with Mitchell voting with all other Democrats.

Speaking to reporters after Thursday’s floor session, Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson indicated the GOP caucus might seek a ruling from a higher authority. Asked who that might be, Johnson said there are three branches of government. Asked if he might file a lawsuit, he said, “We’ll see.”

ED FUNDING: The education finance bill passed by the House this week includes nearly $31.4 million to pay teachers for their time outside of the classroom learning a new way to teach children to read, reports Josie Albertson-Grove. School districts can also use the money to pay for substitutes if teachers are trained during school hours. The state’s Read Act, which passed last year, required school districts to adopt a literacy plan and paid for the curriculum, but it did not include funding for the time it will take teachers to get trained on the new materials.

Republican legislators have been drawing attention to what they describe as unfunded mandates passed last year, including the new literacy standards. Democrats have pushed back, saying they wanted to see higher statewide standards, even if it meant placing requirements on school districts.

JUNK FEES: After the Senate moved on from the debate over Mitchell, they passed a bill on a bipartisan vote that would ban so-called “junk fees,” those hidden fees that pop up at the end of a transaction, right at the moment a consumer is about to purchase a product. Those fees have driven up the costs of everything from ordering at a restaurant and getting concert tickets to buying products online.

The Senate bill, sponsored by DFL Sen. Lindsey Port, would amend the state’s deceptive trade practices act and require any mandatory fee or surcharge to be included in the advertised or list price for goods and services. The bill has already passed the House, but the two sides will have to work out some differences in a conference committee. Port said she she’s confident they’ll come to an agreement that sends the bill to the governor’s desk.

MNLEG: The House and Senate are both in session today. The House will take up the election and tax bills on the floor, while the Senate is expected to take up modifications and the budget for the Office of Cannabis Management.

WHERE’S WALZ:

9:00 a.m.: Gov. Tim Walz will sign a bill into law renaming a section of Highway 169 in honor of the late state Sen. David Tomassoni.

9:45 a.m.: The governor will speak at Asian Minnesotan Day on the Hill.

10:00 a.m.: Walz is meeting with Filip Vanden Bulcke, Consul General of Belgium in New York.

1:00 p.m.: He has interviews on his schedule for candidates in the Seventh Judicial District.

READING LIST

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