Minnesota lawmakers on Friday are set to return to the Capitol to take up reforms to the state’s policing laws and weigh next steps in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Their actions could end Gov. Tim Walz’s peacetime emergency declaration spurred by the pandemic and limit the governor’s vast executive authority. Legislators could pass more than $1 billion in local construction projects and green-light millions of dollars in COVID-19 aid for businesses, families and local governments.
And they could take up a slate of changes to the state’s policing laws in the wake of George Floyd’s death last month in Minneapolis police custody.
Leaders in the divided Legislature appeared to have different priorities for the overtime session. And partisan disagreements threaten to again block the passage of several bills.
As lawmakers return to the Capitol, here’s what you need to know:
WHY ARE THEY COMING BACK?
Walz on Wednesday announced he would again extend his peacetime emergency another 30 days because of the COVID-19 pandemic and that triggered legislative action. The House and Senate will vote on whether to block the extension of the emergency and by extension additional executive authority for the Walz administration.
Both chambers need to vote down the extension to block it. GOP lawmakers, who hold a majority in the Senate, have signaled they’ll vote to end the peacetime emergency while Democrats who control the House have said they’ll vote to allow the extension.
Republicans said they oppose the governor’s continued peacetime authority because they feel he hasn’t adequately consulted with the Legislature and they think his executive actions have gone too far. Some have said the extension signals an unwillingness to work with lawmakers and have said they won’t work on other priorities until Walz drops it.
“The time for emergency powers has long passed,” House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, said.
The peacetime emergency lets the administration activate the National Guard to help respond to the pandemic and pull down federal disaster funds. Walz and Democrats in the Legislature said those abilities, as well as the option to more quickly issue executive actions, remain important in dealing with the pandemic.
“I would caution against that,” Walz said of ending the peacetime emergency. “We are still in this.”
WILL THEY TAKE UP OTHER ISSUES?
There were a variety of issues that went unfinished in the regular legislative session. Lawmakers are set to consider a borrowing bill to fund public construction projects around the state, the next round of aid for businesses, homeowners and others affected by the pandemic and a tax bill.
Following the death of Floyd, Walz has also called on lawmakers to take up a slate of police accountability and criminal justice bills. The governor and Democratic leaders said the policing reforms will be their top priority.
WHAT ARE THE POLICING PROPOSALS THEY’RE CONSIDERING?
Walz and members of the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus on Thursday put forth a set of proposals aimed at re-writing policing laws to adjust officer training and accountability. Among the proposals were plans to ban chokehold and warrior training, boost mental health and de-escalation training, fund community responders to work alongside officers and fund community healing initiatives and create an independent office to review instances of deadly force.
“It’s up to us in the Legislature to make transformative change,” Sen. Jeff Hayden, DFL-Minneapolis, said.
The lawmakers also said they would push forward a bill that would restore the right to vote to felons who’ve completed their jail sentences.
That proposal and the slate of ideas put forth by DFL lawmakers of color drew a rebuke from Daudt, who said GOP ideas should also be included in conversations about criminal justice reform.
WHEN WILL THE SPECIAL SESSION END?
There’s no clear end date and lawmakers can remain in session as long as they see fit. Walz on Wednesday said they should stay as long as it is needed to advance police accountability bills, a bonding bill, COVID-19 aid funding and other legislation that didn’t get done during the regular session.
He also asked lawmakers to work with him to set out protections against eviction for homeowners and renters who can’t pay rent due to the pandemic and the state response and outline ways to transition away from his broad executive authority under the peacetime emergency.
House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said the Legislature would work until it passed proposals that could address Floyd’s death and prevent future instances of police deadly force.
“We will take as long as it takes to address that injustice,” Hortman said.