Minnesota legislative Democrats promise unity on sweeping agenda

Minnesota Democrats rolled out a familiar set of top priorities Wednesday — tackling climate change, affordable housing and child care. Creating a paid family and medical leave program. Expanding voting access and ensuring abortion access.

And for the first time in nearly a decade, it's more than a wish list.

Newly in control of both the House and Senate, legislative Democrats held a joint news conference to show a united front on issues they've long pushed for but could now make a reality if they can keep their narrow majorities on the same page.

"These should not be a surprise to anyone. These are priorities we've been putting forward for years," said House Majority Leader Jamie Long, DFL-Minneapolis. "We ran on them in the last election, and Minnesotans have rewarded us with majorities in both houses and are asking us to deliver."

They'll have an ally in DFL Gov. Tim Walz, who shares many of the same goals, but some issues could face tougher slog than others. Democrats didn't include a proposal to legalize marijuana for adults in their top shared priorities, as the Senate's narrow majority needs time to review the lengthy bill and assess its support.

"It's going to be in a lot of committees," said Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis, who noted her caucus must hear many bills that the Democratic majority in the House already debated. "It will be moving; I don't know how fast it will be moving."

House Democrats can lose only two votes to pass a bill without Republican support, while Senate Democrats unexpectedly flipped the chamber but hold control by a single vote.

"Rather than getting to work on balancing the budget and giving the massive surplus back to the people, they are rushing through their own top priorities without bipartisan support," said Sen. Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, and Rep. Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring.

Some items on Democrats' list are getting getting quick attention this session, including a push to codify access to abortion in state law. It was the first bill introduced in both the House and Senate on Wednesday, and the legislation will get a House hearing Thursday.

The state Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that Minnesota has constitutional protection for abortion, but language allowing abortion is not written in state law.

"We know that the makeups of Supreme Courts at the state and federal level change and we think it's important to have that right enshrined in Minnesota statute," said House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, who also supports putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot to guarantee abortion access.

That issue stalled under divided government, but Democrats credit winning their majorities to fury among voters over the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade last summer.

With a $17.6 billion projected budget surplus on the table, Democrats are also considering tax relief, including providing a tax credit to families of up to $3,000 for each child under 5 years old, capped at $7,500 in total tax credits.

A handful of Senate Democrats support eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits, including Sen. Aric Putnam, DFL-St. Cloud, who joined two Republicans in sponsoring a bill on Wednesday to repeal the tax. Hortman said that proposal will also be in the mix in the House, but there are concerns about the cost.

"It's very expensive in the future," she said. "If we're going to do something like that, we need to know what happens in future years to our investments in things like public schools."

Also high on Democrats' list is pumping more money into special education, as well as moving Minnesota to 100% clean and renewable energy sources by 2040.

And both chambers are pushing a sweeping package of bills to expand voting access in the state, including instituting automatic voter registration, restoring the right to vote for Minnesotans with felony records who are on probation and allowing voters to chose to vote by mail on a permanent absentee ballot list.