Minnesota House postpones all activity until Monday because of COVID-19 - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press

The coronavirus is now disrupting the Minnesota Capitol.

The Minnesota House of Representatives has postponed all business until Monday, officals announced Thursday evening.

“That means that there will be no meetings, committee hearings, or other informal meetings on the Capitol complex, until after Monday’s floor session,” House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, wrote in an email to staff and members.

The measure was taken following talks among leaders of both chambers of the Legislature from both parties.

Both the House and Senate have 11 a.m. floor sessions scheduled. It’s unclear what will be done during those sessions, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that the virus might jeopardize the future of the legislative session, which is scheduled to run into May.

On Thursday evening, the legislative leaders issued a joint statement noting the future is in question, as well as access to the Capitol complex.

“The four legislative leaders are working closely together and will continue to be in conversation through the weekend about the agenda for the session and how to conduct legislative proceedings in light of COVID-19,” reads the statement by Hortman; Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-Nisswa; House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, R-Crown; and Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent, DFL-Woodbury. “No further decisions have been made regarding Capitol access or legislative activity at this time, and we will provide timely updates if there are any changes.”

The Minnesota Legislature has no apparent way to actually pass bills remotely.

If the Legislature were to do nothing else this session, it would have minimal effect on the general operations of state government, which is in the midst of a two-year-spending plan. However, there was bipartisan eagerness for a few things.

Democratic lawmakers Wednesday rolled out a series of COVID-19-inspired proposals that sought to shore up unemployment benefits and paid sick leave for those affected by the virus, as well as measures to ban price gouging on critical items, require health plans to cover coronavirus-related costs, and establish a revolving loan account for doctors and hospitals grappling with the epidemic.

Republicans had expressed a general openness to the ideas, although their adoption is far from certain.

In addition, there was widespread bipartisan support for public works and infrastructure spending bill — a traditional borrowing plan tackled in years when the budget isn’t on the table.

Earlier Thursday, Gov. Tim Walz said he hoped the Legislature could rapidly pass such a measure, which could exceed $1 billion. However, that plan is far from ready for voting, as Democratic and Republican goals appeared to be billions of dollars apart and the myriad individual projects have not been scrutinized by lawmakers.

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Minnesota House postpones all activity until Monday because of COVID-19 - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
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