(This post has been updated)
Three DFL state senators and three House Republicans will take the lead for their respective caucuses in plotting legislation for a possible special session that Gov. Mark Dayton wants to convene in January.
Dayton wants lawmakers to meet ahead of the regular session on March 8 in order to deal with three issues: expired unemployment benefits for Iron Range mine workers; income and employment disparities facing communities of color in the state; and compliance with the federal Real ID requirements.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, and House Speaker Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, have each tapped three colleagues to lead working groups on each of those issues.
Sen. David Tomassoni, DFL-Chisholm, and Rep. Tom Hackbarth, R-Cedar, will spearhead the working group on Iron Range unemployment.
Sen. Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, and Rep. Jim Knoblach, R-St. Cloud, will head up the racial disparities effort.
Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, and Rep. Peggy Scott, R-Andover, will run the Real ID group.
The working groups have a tentative plan to start meeting on Jan. 7, Bakk wrote in a letter this week to Senate Republican Leader David Hann. Bakk said he is seeking additional volunteers from his caucus to participate and asked Hann to do likewise.
