Daily Digest for May 8, 2020 Posted at 6:35 a.m. by Cody Nelson
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Good morning and welcome to another budget deficit edition of Capitol View.
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Minnesota lawmakers face a big problem and not much time to fix it. A $2.4 billion problem, as Brian Bakst reports: "Until March, Minnesota’s legislative session was humming toward a conclusion that seemed likely to provide new education spending and targeted tax cuts given a decent-sized surplus.
Those discussions came to an abrupt end as the coronavirus pandemic hit. The projected deficit amounts to about 8.5 percent of the remaining budget that runs through June 2021."
“This is a math problem.” That's what Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Myron Frans told House lawmakers Wednesday. “You have revenues dropping and spending going up — equals a budget deficit.” And how they solve that problem will affect hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans . “So, we have got to figure out what to do about the revenues and the spending in order to reequalize that budget balance — either through the use of revenue changes, spending changes and use of the budget reserves,” Frans said. Gov. Tim Walz is expected to issue a set of budget recommendations in the coming days.
Lawmakers have apparently figured out how they're going to make voting safer this fall. While the bill doesn't expand voting by mail, it makes some other changes. Via Brian: "The bill permits candidates to file electronically, extends the counting period for absentee ballots and releases $17 million in federal election money. Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, said her bill also provides more flexibility around polling place locations. 'The ability to relocate polling places away from sites that might not be safe for those who are vulnerable, in particular nursing homes, assisted living, congregate living-type situations,' she said."
Workers at the Pilgrim's Pride poultry processing plant in Cold Spring are calling for a federal investigation of their bosses. Kirsti Marohn reports : "On Thursday, the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to investigate the Pilgrim’s Pride poultry processing plant in Cold Spring, and to ensure workers’ safety. CAIR said employees reported that the company is forcing them to keep working at the plant even if they’re sick; is not providing adequate personal protective equipment and sanitation; and is forcing employees to take group breaks in the same lunchroom, even as state health officials continue to recommend social distancing and self-quarantine."
Are face masks political? Apparently so, as the AP reports: "The decision to wear a mask in public is becoming a political statement — a moment to pick sides in a brewing culture war over containing the coronavirus. While not yet as loaded as a 'Make America Great Again' hat, the mask is increasingly a visual shorthand for a debate pitting those willing to follow health officials' guidance and cover their faces against those who feel it violates their freedom or buys into a threat they think is overblown."
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