Rep. Bjorn Olson, R-Fairmont, laid out plainly one thing that’s been notably different about the last few legislative sessions: An almost breakneck pace of change. That’s a pattern he thinks is going to change.
“I think, when we’re tied 67-67 in the House of Representatives, not a lot is going to happen. A lot of people in my district, they look at me and they say, ‘Bjorn, you guys didn’t do anything last year.’ I said, ‘that’s exactly what we want,’” Olson said.
Olson’s comments came during Greater Mankato Growth’s Day at the Capitol, an advocacy day for local business owners and community leaders to meet with legislators and share what the biggest concerns facing their community are.
Andy Wilke, Greater Mankato Growth’s executive vice president, says it’s an opportunity to put lawmakers in front of the people they impact the most.
“It’s a really special day for us to be able to bring the voice of Mankato up to the Capitol. We have a diverse group of folks … sharing all the ways that the elected officials can help support our regional marketplace,” he said.
GMG and the attendees were able to hear from a number of local lawmakers including Olson; Rep. Luke Frederick, DFL- Mankato; Sen. Nick Frentz, DFL-North Mankato; Rep. Erica Schwartz, R-Nicollett and more.
CLARIFYING PROGRAMS
One of the biggest concerns, as Olson points out, is that rapid change.
“Before the session starts, I sit down with my superintendent from Fairmont … I ask him one thing, ‘in one sentence, give me from, your lens, what I need to know to go to St. Paul and have that conversation about education in southern Minnesota,” Olson said. “(This year) he said, ‘we need a breath. We need a minute to take a deep breath.”
He went on to say that the superintendent noted that, “Everything’s been thrown at us. It doesn’t look like anything’s going to get taken away from us. So just don’t throw anything else out at us this year.”
Some of those things that have been “thrown” at businesses including Minnesota’s new paid family medical leave law and the new earned sick and safe time law. On that last one, Frederick acknowledged the work that needed to be done to adjust it.
“I heard concerns from some of the local businesses about how they didn’t think that they could set up rules about how you (have) to call in before your shift. … I took that back to my colleagues in the legislature, and we ended up changing a lot to make it even more clear,” he said.
Another concern many Minnesotans have surrounds state-level fraud. It’s something that the group heard from Gov. Tim Walz, DFL-Minnesota, himself on.
“Fraud is insidious because it undermines people’s faith in government and all of these wonderful programs, 99% of whom are following the rules,” Walz said. “To stop some of that, we end up slowing down some of the work we’re doing with legitimate folks. … I can guarantee you by the time we leave, we will have the strongest program integrity of any state on all these programs, and we will still have the best programs to deliver, but it is going to be a little rocky coming up.”
BONDING POSSIBILITIES
One of the common throughlines with all of the legislators was the potential for a bonding bill. It was something Wilke highlighted as well.
“I think that there’s agreement that we need to get some things done, chief among them is a bonding bill, and we’re pleased to hear that so many folks are wanting to get a bonding bill done,” Wilke said.
While everyone agrees a bonding bill should be a priority, opinions are mixed on its possibility.
“(At) the beginning of this session, I thought it was going to be better chances than not, and I think I’m moving a little bit towards the center of the ‘it’s a fifty-fifty coin’ with this,” Olson said.
One thing each of the lawmakers who spoke at the event said was that they don’t want a bonding agreement tied to anything else. Most attendees thought that was a positive thing, but what it means for the likelihood of a bill being passed is yet to be seen.