GMNP Update - May 9, 2025
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Dear GMNP Members,
The countdown to the end of the legislative session on May 19 is almost into single digits. Today, the House will debate and vote on the Jobs omnibus bill, S.F. 1832, which will go to conference committee when it passes off the floor. The House was given a target to cut $50 million per biennium and were prohibited from spending from the Workforce Development Fund, a special revenue account that the committee has fiscal jurisdiction over. The House's fiscal constraints mean that there's a difference of more than $100 million between the House and Senate Jobs bills, and the House bill entirely defunds two key economic development programs (the Minnesota Investment Fund and the Job Creation Fund) and makes significant reductions in the Redevelopment grant program, cleanup funds, and BDPI. I testified and shared our concerns about these cuts at the bill hearing on Tuesday, and GMNP also submitted a letter further outlining our concerns.
This would be a great time to reach out to your Representative and the House Jobs committee co-chairs to let them know you're concerned about these program cuts - find our talking points here. You may also want to share this press release from DEED, which highlights the historic number of jobs that have been created in FY25 by the Minnesota Investment Fund (MIF) and the Job Creation Fund (JCF), both of which had their funding for the next four years entirely eliminated in the House bill.
The big-picture question remains: will the legislature need to meet for a special session to finish their work? While it's starting to look more like they might need to go into overtime to get everything done this session, they're still mostly on track for this time of year as major bills pass off the floor and conference committees begin to meet. A few key bills are still making their way through the process, including the Tax bill, the Health, Children and Families bill, and a bonding bill - but the biggest hold-up right now is negotiations for spending targets that will impact final conference committee decisions. We're still waiting for that agreement, but expect things to move more quickly once there is a deal struck for overall spending.
Finally, everyone is still speculating on the outcome of a bonding bill this year. The Senate set their bill in motion and heard their $1.35B bonding package on Thursday, along with some related corrections provisions. However, bonding bills need to arise in the House, and the House has yet to unveil their bonding package. According to Senate Chair Pappas (DFL-St. Paul), the bonding chairs are due to meet today (Friday) to discuss a shared spending agreement. They will need to bridge a significant fiscal gap, as the Senate target is twice as much as the House target for bonding.
As always, please reach out with any questions at darielle@gmnp.org or (612) 991-5744.
Sincerely,
Darielle Dannen
Executive Director, Greater Minnesota Partnership
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SIGNIFICANT HAPPENINGS THIS WEEK
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Tuesday, May 6
- House Jobs Committee: Heard H.F. 2441 as amended, the temporary vehicle for the Jobs omnibus bill. Both co-chairs pledged their commitment to continuing to work on and improve the bill. The bill was amended into S.F. 1832 sent to Ways and Means which met Tuesday afternoon.
- House Tax Committee: Heard H.F. 2437, the omnibus Tax bill. Rep. Cheryl Youakim (DFL-Hopkins) made positive comments about the language GMNP has supported allowing local communities to transfer excess TIF to their local housing trust fund. The bill was sent to Ways and Means.
- House Ways and Means Committee: Heard S.F. 1832, the Jobs omnibus bill. Rep. Dave Pinto (DFL-St. Paul) testified to his preference for competitive funding awards and his commitment to amending current programs to help them work better for organizations that have received direct appropriations in the past. Rep. Dave Baker (R-Willmar) shared his interest in continuing some ongoing work on the policy language. The bill was sent to the General Register.
Wednesday, May 7
- Senate Tax Committee: Took up S.F. 2374, the Senate omnibus Tax bill. Senator Rest (DFL-New Hope) presented and took testimony on the bill. The majority of testimony focused on the cuts to LGA and CPA, the elimination of local cannabis aid, and the reduction of the film tax credit.
- House Ways and Means: Took up H.F. 2436, the Children and Families omnibus bill, and H.F. 2435, the Health Finance bill. The bills were merged into H.F. 2435 which will now be the Health, Children and Families finance bill.
Thursday, May 8
- Senate Tax Committee: Took up S.F. 2374, the Tax omnibus bill, and discussed several amendments. Only the technical amendments passed, and the bill was passed as amended out of committee and sent to Senate Finance.
- Senate Capital Investment Committee: Heard a number of bills on Thursday, including the Senate's $1.35 billion bonding package, as well as S.F. 3253 which makes modifications and adjustments to previous appropriations, and S.F. 3262, the policy provisions included in the failed 2024 bonding package.
- Housing Conference Committee: Walked through the side-by-side bills, took public testimony, and then adjourned. The majority of the committee's work will need to wait for budget targets.
Friday, May 9
- House Floor: The House will take up S.F. 1832, the omnibus Jobs bill. This is a much slimmer version of the omnibus bill the Senate passed last week.
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HEARINGS & FLOOR SESSIONS
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KEY DATES/COMMITTEE DEADLINES
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Constitutional Adjournment Date - May 19th, 2025
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If you have questions or want to discuss anything further, please feel free to reach out at darielle@gmnp.org or (651) 295-1908.
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The Greater Minnesota Partnership advocates for public policies and investments that stimulate prosperity throughout Greater Minnesota.
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Visit us online at gmnp.org
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Greater Minnesota Partnership
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St. Paul, MN 55103
Contact: info@gmnp.org or 651-259-1908
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