Unfinished Business Greets Returning Minnesota Lawmakers

2017 Legislative Session Starts Off With Uncertainty

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A new year, and a fresh start with a lot of old work to return to finish.

Tuesday marked the first day of the 2017 Minnesota Legislative session in a Chamber with $310 million-dollars in renovations.

With a republican-controlled legislature and a democratic Governor may wonder if the state can avoid a government shutdown this year, or finish the work the failed to do in 2016.

Republicans hold a 76-57 House majority, including 12 of 23 newly elected representatives.

Tuesday started with visits from families and photo-ops, as well as a promise for progress.

Some new lawmakers say the election doesn’t seem so far away.

“We really hit the ground running,” said Rep. Liz Olson (DFL-Duluth). “The first training was two days after the election ended to learn the ropes and how we can become effective, there wasn’t a lot of downtime.”

However, the campaign trail and the statehouse are two different realities, especially when it comes to getting both parties to agree.

Veteran lawmakers are still tainted from last session’s failures.

“There’s a lot on our plate because we didn’t get anything done last session,” said Rep. Jennifer Schultz (DFL-Duluth).

Schultz hoping a bonding bill will finally pass that will fund the Steam Plant in Duluth and cleanup projects for the St. Louis River.

Olson says she’s not sure which projects have a positive outlook.

“The makeup of the legislature could make it challenging to do some of the things I heard at doors and was hopeful I could do,” said Olson.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are crossing their fingers to make an agreement about how to fix the rising costs of healthcare the first week of the new session.

Some republicans believe Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton should choose his actions carefully.

“He needs to do some soul-searching, and come work with us,” said Rep. Matt Bliss (R)Bemidji. “We’ll work with him we’re not going to steamroll him, we do need to get something forward and signed.”

Lawmakers have 120 days to accomplish their goals in the 2017 session.