Capitol View for April 3

Good morning. We’re in for a warmup.

Pharmacists descended on the Capitol yesterday to talk about the tough medicine going down for some of them. A group of Minnesota independent pharmacists pressed lawmakers yesterday to pass a set of bills that would boost Medicaid reimbursement rates they receive and make other changes to help them stay viable. At the Capitol, Dana Ferguson reports that a coalition said that several pharmacies stand to close without a financial boost. John Hoeschen is a pharmacist and owner of St. Paul Corner Drug. He says his pharmacy loses money when it administers several medications. "Like an emergency antibiotic, these bills are the prescription that we need right now. The lifeline that would give us time to engage in a treatment plan to help ensure that local pharmacies will be able to continue serving their communities for generations to come.” Lawmakers are also reviewing a proposal to extend COVID-era changes that let pharmacies offer vaccines and testing services.

The newest House member has taken his seat. Republican Rep. Bryan Lawrence of Princeton took his oath yesterday. It returns the House to its full 134-member complement. Lawrence easily won a special election last month to replace Rep. Kurt Daudt, a prominent Republican who resigned in February to take a different job. Lawrence is a farmer and businessman who was active in local politics prior to this run. “With my wide variety of experience, I can help restore balance and common sense here in St. Paul," he said upon taking office. His seat and all of the others will be on November’s ballot.

New betting games are coming to Minnesota’s horse tracks and that isn’t sitting well with the state’s Native American tribes. The Star Tribune reports on a Racing Commission decision approved yesterday. It allows “historical horse racing” games that are based on past horse races. Don’t ask us how it works because it would seem on its face that if you know the outcome, you know the bet. In any case, the tracks see it as a revenue source. Tribal gaming operators are considering options, including potential litigation, to challenge the rule. Also in the background: Does it make a sports betting bill at the Capitol easier or harder to pass? We shall see.

No surprise but Joe Biden and Donald Trump won the Democratic and Republican primaries yesterday in Wisconsin. NPR has this about the state's "uninstructed" voters sending Biden a message. But what some people were watching were two election-related ballot questions. One was to bar outside entities from contributing money to election administration; the other was to restrict election functions to certain authorities. Both measures passed. There wasn’t a very active campaign for either, although state Republican Party officials backed and Democrats were in opposition.

It remains to be seen if and when lawmakers will place a measure on Minnesota ballots to add an equal rights amendment in the state constitution. But in the event that happens, there is already a campaign organization in motion to get it adopted. On Monday, Minnesotans for Equal Rights was registered with state campaign finance regulators . It’s worth noting that the chair is Megan Peterson, who is executive director of the group Gender Justice. DFL lawmakers are still working through the wording and scope of a potential amendment and when it would be put to voters, although 2026 seems like the safest bet at this point.

A favorite downtime activity of Brian’s is to scour state contracting and vendor solicitation documents for nuggets of news. A few posted within the last week caught his eye:

The Office of Cannabis Management is on the hunt for a third-party contractor to do status verifications for social equity applicants. The request for proposal says the work would start in July; the state expects 2,000 such social equity applicants for various cannabis licenses within the first five months.

The Department of Administration, on behalf of the state lottery, is after a vendor to provide licensed Minnesota Vikings apparel that’s co-branded with the lottery’s logo and possibly the “I’M N” slogan. We’re talking more than 10,000 T-shirts, 5,000 ballcaps and 1,000 drawstring bags.

The Department of Minnesota Management and Budget is on the lookout for misconduct investigators. When allegations of employee misconduct are raised, sometimes the state enlists outside firms to examine them. This could include “allegations of violations of the sexual and protected class harassment and discrimination prohibited policies, violations of the Code of Ethics or codes of conduct, computer misuse, theft of State property and violations of the Respectful Workplace policy.”