(St. Paul, MN) — Tuesday lawmakers were back in Saint Paul for the 2023 legislative session, with Democrats controlling both the Minnesota House and Senate, and the state budget with nearly an 18-billion-dollar surplus.
Before the opening gavels just after noon, Governor Tim Walz brought brownies to lawmakers, including House Transportation Committee Chairman Frank Hornstein. “Now let’s build some roads,” the governor said — Hornstein replying, “We’re gonna pass the best transportation bill ever!”
As lawmakers went through the time-honored tradition of organizing the operations of the House and Senate for the new session, hundreds of anti-gun-violence advocates rallied outside the chambers. “This session’s our session,” said Ellen Young with Protect Minnesota. “Criminal background checks, extreme risk orders. We want funding for violence interruption programs.”
Supporters and opponents of legalizing recreational marijuana were at the State Capitol on this first day of the 2023 session (Tues). Minnesota Trucking Association President John Hausladen says while lawmakers are saying publicly that legalization has momentum and there are election results they have to respond to, “these legislators care about the people of Minnesota, and I think when they look at it holistically they’re gonna be able to take a deeper look than perhaps they’ve had in the past — and I don’t think this is on a fast train at all.”
But Advocate Marcus Harcus says if Democrats want to retain their majority in the Minnesota Legislature, “they’re gonna have to get this done. A lot of independent voters — including myself — supported the trifecta, because we knew that only the Democrats… [having] a majority control would get this done.”
Democrat leaders are pushing for quick action to put abortion rights into state law. A Minnesota Supreme Court ruling upholds them, but advocates want extra insurance after the U-S Supreme Court struck down Roe -v- Wade.
House Speaker Melissa Hortman says the Protect Reproductive Options Act (PRO Act) will be the first bill introduced tomorrow (Wed) in both the House and Senate.
Opponents warn it would allow abortions in Minnesota up to the moment of birth.