Minnesota Report
Today, Governor Tim Walz (DFL-MN) called the legislature back into a Special Session. The terms of the agreement are the session will end by 7:00 pm. At the opening, HF1-HF14 were introduced and an emergency declared, meaning the bills were given there 1st, 2nd and 3rd reading and placed on the floor for debate.
Because of the tied House at 67-67, it will be interesting to see, if either DFL or the Republicans put forward the requisite votes to pass these fourteen legislative bills. The main obstacle in HF 1 is the elimination of the healthcare cover of undocumented immigrants. This is a Republican requirement to be able to pass all of the budget bills, so it will likely be only one person who votes for it, which will likely be Speaker Emeritus Melissa Hortman (DFL-36B, Brooklyn Park)in this case and most likely Speak Lisa Demuth (R-13B, Cold Spring) later.
One serious consideration, is the pure and simple fact, passage of this legislation doesn’t prevent the undocumented from going to an Emergency Room, to get medical care, which is far more expensive than standard care.
We will watch the proceeding and shall share the recorded votes.