End in sight blurry for budget agreements among Minnesota lawmakers
The Brief
If the end of budget negotiations was in sight on Monday, it became blurry Tuesday. Legislative leaders hoped for a special session as soon as Wednesday, but that won't happen and a meeting between leaders and the governor got postponed.
A whittled-down taxes bill may be one reason. It increases the cannabis tax and removes a tax exemption for data centers.
The transportation bill seems much more popular. It includes changes to an e-bike rebate program. It also leaves in place a law allowing motorcyclists to split and filter lanes at low speeds as of July 1, but limits where they can do it.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Progress seemed stalled at the Capitol Tuesday with no announcements from the push to finish off a budget.
Not special yet
Leaders said Monday they hoped for a special session as soon as Wednesday, but that's not going to happen and they were nowhere in sight Tuesday.
Gov. Walz and legislative leaders were set to meet in the afternoon, but FOX 9 heard late word that was postponed.
A few legislators now say they don't expect a special session this week and an unpopular taxes bill may be part of the reason.
Tax troubles
Leaders trimmed the taxes omnibus bill to just a few elements, including a cannabis tax increase from 10% to 15%.
It would also eliminate an electricity tax exemption for data centers, which upsets a lot of Republicans.
"I think to take away the tax preferences for that is like one of the biggest mistakes of this session," said Sen. Jim Abeler (R-Anoka). "And hopefully they could undo that part of the agreement."
Bridging partisan gaps
The transportation agreement, on the other hand, may have something for everybody.
It renames a couple bridges: One along I-35 in Burnsville in honor of first responders Paul Elmstrand, Adam Finseth, and Matthew Ruge; and another on 10th Ave. SE in Minneapolis as a memorial to former Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic.
It also adjusts an e-bike rebate program that almost broke the Internet.
"Within 11 seconds, 1% of Minnesota attempted to get an e-bike rebate," Sen. Abeler said. "They were very popular and so the system got full."
His update cuts the rebate in half to $750, offers it only to people with disabilities, and creates a lottery if more than 3,000 people apply.
The bill does not include Senate language to decriminalize jaywalking and it does not postpone the July 1 implementation of a law allowing low-speed lane splitting and filtering by motorcycles.But it does outlaw the move in construction zones, in roundabouts, and in school zones.
"It's fairly common sense you wouldn't do those things, but we need to make we put it in state law to ensure that everybody is on the same page," said Rider Academy's Phil Stalboerger, who lobbied to legalize lane splitting.
What's next
It's not clear everybody is on the same page on all the reaming bills, though.
The governor's communications staffers say we should expect to hear more from him on Wednesday.
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