The Halfway Mark: What is and is Not Moving Through the Session

The Christian life is a marathon. As Matthew 24:14 reminds us, “the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.” This message resonates with Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC) staff as we reach the midpoint of the legislative session. While the speed and intensity at the Capitol have increased, the number of bills with the momentum needed to pass this year has shrunk now that the March 27 policy bill deadlines have passed.

Deadlines are the Legislature’s way of funneling thousands of introduced bills into a workable list. Think of them as the chopping block for legislation with little to no movement. These deadlines are necessary because there is only so much time in a legislative session. For context, of the more than 9,000 bills introduced this year, only around 50 will reach a final vote.

This year, for a policy bill to stay “alive,” these three things had to be true before 5:00 p.m. on March 27:

1. The bill was scheduled for a committee hearing in both the House and Senate.
2. It was heard in a committee in both chambers.
3. It received a favorable committee action (i.e., passed out of committee) in both chambers.

Finance bills involving the appropriation of funds have until April 17 to receive favorable action.

For MCC staff, deadlines serve as motivation, mile markers, and encouragement to persevere in the race. And while important, deadlines are not absolute. As a certain captain of the Black Pearl once said, “The code is more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules.” In other words, the legislative process has ways to circumvent the normal path bills must follow when exigencies arise.

A stalled bill can re-emerge in new ways. It could, for example, be amended to a bill that is still progressing or put into an omnibus bill. Because an urgency can be declared to bring a bill immediately to the floor, we must remain ever vigilant, even when some “bad” bills are supposedly dead.

Still, not meeting deadlines generally means that a bill will not pass this year. It focuses legislative resources and enables legislators to concentrate on negotiating the things that may actually get done.

Bills That Passed (and Didn’t)

Due to the 67-67 tie in the House and close split in the Senate, most of the bills MCC is focused on passing did not meet deadlines, strictly speaking. The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit and the Stop the Harms of Addictive Social Media Act, while technically “dead” because they only got movement in one body, not both, still have a chance to move forward during end-of-session negotiations or through an extraordinary procedural move. Remember, the deadlines sometimes are more like guidelines than actual rules, and we will continue to advocate for those legislative priorities until the end.

Staying Vigilant: The Race Isn’t Over Yet

The halfway point is significant, but there is still much to do. Your participation in the Catholic Advocacy Network makes real success possible. The thousands of messages sent to legislators over the last month have been inspiring and have made a genuine difference at the Capitol. These messages help bills get hearings, show public opposition to harmful legislation, and help inform legislators about what their constituents are actually thinking.  As said in the halls of the Capitol, it’s not done until the gavel falls.

Persevere!

Be sure you are a part of the Catholic Advocacy Network, where you will be formed in the faith, informed on the issues, and take action to transform our state. Visit MNcatholic.org to join.