Good morning and welcome to Monday, the final day of the (regular) legislative session. Will lawmakers be able to finish their budget work before the clock strikes midnight? Do clocks even strike midnight anymore? Let’s go to the Digest to try to find out.
1. DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and the Republican-controlled House and Senate on Sunday inched their way toward an agreement on a $46 billion two-year state budget. They worked behind closed doors and rolled out bills as the day went on.The part of the budget covering health and welfare programs for the poor proved the toughest to tame, with Republicans aiming to reel back spending and Dayton looking for ways to avoid rollbacks in those services. Sunday saw lawmakers pass three smaller budget bills to Dayton: one for agriculture and housing programs, another dealing with outdoors and environment spending and a third covering higher education. (MPR News)
2. In the bargaining of the penultimate day, both sides had to give up some of their priorities.Republicans dropped an effort to give tax breaks in return for donations to scholarship funds for low-income students at private schools. They called the idea"opportunity scholarships," but DFL Gov. Mark Dayton derided them as"vouchers" that would siphon needed money from public schools. Though Dayton won that battle, he lost a struggle over higher education funding. The budget for higher education will give the state's colleges and universities $3.2 billion over the next two years. That's more than Republicans initially wanted but $100 million less than Dayton originally proposed. (Pioneer Press)
3.The Legislature's environment and natural resources budget, which has the backing of Dayton, includes about $23 million in fee increases.The measure passed the Senate with a 42-25 vote Sunday and passed the House 83-51 shortly before 11 p.m.. The bill increases the cost of a fishing license by $3, of hunting license by $4, and of state park passes. It also includes fee increases for snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles.The last time hunting and fishing license fees increased was in 2012. The increases were proposed by the Department of Natural Resources and Dayton to keep up with rising costs. (Pioneer Press)
4.One of the highest-profile criminal cases in recent memory is scheduled to begin next week in St. Paul. Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez will go on trial for shooting and killing Philando Castile. It happened during a traffic stop last summer in Falcon Heights, and the moments after the shooting were broadcast on Facebook Live. It’s a rare case of an officer facing criminal charges for killing someone while on duty. MPR News is launching a new podcast to cover the story. It’s called“74 Seconds.” (MPR News)
5.Hennepin County Courts offered up a deal Saturday – if you’ve got a misdemeanor warrant, come in and the county will clear it. For a few hundred people, it was a chance to clean up a record and move on with their lives. Pilisi Lane lives in Phoenix and has been haunted by a three-year-old warrant out of Minneapolis. Because of it, she said she can’t get a full-time job. Instead she works as a temp with no benefits, vacation or company health insurance.She was the first person into the gym at Sabathani Community Center, where Misdemeanor Warrant Forgiveness Day was hosted by the Hennepin County Court system, as well as other organizations. (MPR News)
