From: MMBA Lobbyist Sarah J. Psick
The 2012 Legislative Session has adjourned sine die! The House of Representatives adjourned on the 118th legislative day at 4:13 a.m. on the morning of Thursday, May 10. The Senate met one more day and adjourned on the 119th legislative day, Thursday, May 10 at 2:03 p.m.
General Legislative Summary
The 2012 Legislative Session began on January 24, 2012 with the promise by Republican Legislative leadership that it would be a "short" session and they would adjourn sine die on April 30, 2012. That self-imposed deadline was missed as session continued into May. The session began with a projected revenue surplus of $876 million making this the first session in many years without a budget deficit to address.
Most of the 2012 legislative session was spent on three issues: taxes, bonding and a Vikings stadium bill. Along the way, others issues were addressed such as passing an additional amendment to the Minnesota Constitution and the redistricting of all legislative districts. The bill to place a Constitutional Amendment question on the 2012 ballot was passed by the House and Senate and does not require a Governor's signature, or allow a Governor's veto. Voters will be asked, "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to require all voters to present valid photo identification to vote and to require the state to provide free identification to eligible voters, effective July 1, 2013?" The Governor issued a ceremonial, though non-binding veto of the bill.
Although the headlines mainly told of the disagreements between Governor Dayton and the Legislature, over 181 bills were passed by the Legislature. To date, 144 were signed into law and 30 were vetoed. Seven bills are awaiting action by the Governor, including the omnibus bonding bill, omnibus tax bill #2 and the Vikings stadium bill.
Taxes: The Legislature passed two omnibus tax bills. The first was vetoed by Governor Dayton and the second was passed the House and Senate and is awaiting action from the Governor to either sign or veto the bill. The key components of the omnibus tax bill included a freeze on the statewide business property tax, increases in the research and development tax credit and the angle investor tax credit, and an upfront exemption on capital equipment for small employers, among other things. Approval of an omnibus tax bill was a key priority for Republicans in the legislature.
Bonding: Passage of an omnibus bonding bill looked to be a near impossible task for most of the legislative session. Minnesota's Constitution requires that a bonding bill must be approved by three-fifths of the legislature, or 81 votes in the House and 41 votes in the Senate. Other bills require 68 votes to pass in the House and 34 votes to pass in the Senate. In January, Governor Dayton proposed a $750 million bonding package which included both state and local projects to be funded with state issued general obligation bonds. With the passage of a $517 million during the 2011 special session, Republicans in the House and Senate supported a bonding bill of $500 million or less for the 2012 session, making a biennial total for bonding approximately $1 billion. During the final week of the session, the House and Senate approved a bonding package of state projects totaling $496 million. The bill is expected to be signed by Governor Dayton. Among the projects that were funded was $44 million to begin the renovation of the State Capitol building.
Skol Vikings! After ten years of debate, including hours and hours and hours during the 2012 legislative session, the Legislature has approved a bill which will provide the funding mechanism for the construction of a new Minnesota Vikings Stadium. After months of speculation, the legislative proposal underwent hours of committee hearings and legislative debate during the final weeks of the session. The bill was debated on the House Floor for over eight hours and the Senate spent over 10 hours before both bodies approved the bill and it was sent to a conference committee to work out the details between the two bills. The stadium will be a partnership between the Vikings, the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota. The new stadium will be built on the current Metrodome site in downtown Minneapolis. The main funding mechanism for the state portion will be the authorization of electronic pull tabs and electronic linked bingo to be played in bars and restaurants and run by charitable gaming organizations. The bill calls for a $975 million, 65,000-seat roofed stadium to be built primarily on the Metrodome site on the eastern edge of downtown Minneapolis. The team would cover $477 million of construction costs; the state $348 million; and Minneapolis $150 million. The team can also add a retractable roof at their expense.
The final approval of the bill passed the House by a vote of 71-60 and passed the Senate by a vote of 36-30. The Governor is expected to officially sign the bill in a ceremony within the next few days.
Retirements: The House and Senate have a long-standing tradition that at the end of the biennium, legislators who will be retiring are given the honor of saying goodbye to the institution by giving a farewell speech after the final gavel falls. The entire legislature is up for re-election in November 2012. After the release of the new redistricting maps in February, many legislators have announced that they will not be seeking reelection, or are seeking election to a different office. Following is a list, to date, of the legislators who have announced their retirement:
* Sen. Keith Langseth (DFL, Glyndon)
* Sen. Gretchen Hoffman (R, Vergas)
* Sen. Mike Parry (R, Waseca) - running for Congress
* Sen. Amy Koch (R, Buffalo)
* Sen. Doug Magnus (R, Slayton)
* Sen. Mike Jungbauer (R, East Bethel)
* Sen. Gen Olson (R, Minnetrista)
* Sen. Geoff Michel (R, Edina)
* Sen. Clair Robling (R, Jordan)
* Sen. Chris Gerlach (R, Apple Valley)
* Sen. Linda Higgins (SFL, Minneapolis)
* Sen. Ken Kelash (DFL, Minneapolis)
* Sen. Mary Jo McGuire (DFL, Falcon Heights)
* Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL, Virginia)
* Rep. Kent Eken (DFL, Twin Valley) - running for Senate
* Rep. Mark Murdock (R, Ottertail)
* Rep. Bill Hilty (DFL, Finlayson)
* Rep. Mike LeMieur (R, Little Falls)
* Rep. Torrey Westrom (R, Elbow Lake) - running for Senate
* Rep. Larry Hosch (DFL, St. Joseph)
* Rep. Lyle Koenen (DFL, Clara City) - Elected to Senate in April, 2012
* Rep. Ron Shimanski (R, Silver Lake)
* Rep. Bruce Anderson (R, Buffalo Township) - running for Senate
* Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer (R, Big Lake) - running for Senate
* Rep. Connie Doepke (R, Orono) - running for Senate
* Rep. Branden Peterson (R, Andover) - running for Senate
* Rep. Denise Dittrich (DFL, Champlin)
* Rep. Kate Knuth (DFL, New Brighton)
* Rep. Bev Scalze (DFL, Little Canada)
* Rep. Keith Downey (R, Edina) - running for Senate
* Rep. Pat Mazorol (R, Bloomington)
* Rep. Nora Slawik (DFL, Maplewood)
* Rep. John Kriesel (R, Cottage Grove)
* Rep. Mark Buesgens (R, Jordan)
* Rep. Kurt Bills (R, Rosemount) - running for U.S. Senate
* Rep. Bobby Joe Champion (DFL, Minneapolis) - running for Senate
* Rep. Marion Greene (DFL, Minneapolis)
* Rep. Mindy Greiling (DFL, Roseville)
The freshman class in January 2011 was one of the largest in recent memories with over 60 new members elected to the Minnesota Legislature. Looking at the list of current retirements, more retirements that are expected be announced, plus the inevitable members who will be defeated, we can predict that the 2013 legislative session will bring an even larger class of freshman members elected to the legislature.
The 2013 Legislative Session will convene at Noon on Tuesday, January 8, 2013.
