Heightened Legislative Activity – and Interest Rates

Lots of news this past week:
 
First off Derek Chauvin received his sentencing: 270 months, or 22.5 years. An extra ten years was placed on top of the usual 12.5 years due to abuse of position of authority and cruelty shown to George Floyd. Attorney General Ellison wrote an opinion for The Washington Post this past Saturday. His challenge: let this be a turning point.
 
In the Minnesota Legislature, lots of moves on transportation bill, budget, and policing law changes. See notes on that below.
 
Of particular interest to me was Minneapolis Fed President, Neel Kashkari, interview with Reuters. He wants to keep the U.S. central bank’s benchmark short-term interest rate near zero at least through the end of 2023 to allow the labor market to return to its pre-pandemic strength. is opposing interest rate hikes at least through 2023. Kashkari’s remarks show he’s in a decided minority in an increasingly hawkish Fed, which on Wednesday wrapped up a two-day meeting with an unexpected result: with inflation on the rise, most Fed policymakers now see a case for starting interest rate hikes sooner.
 
On a local level, know that your cities, counties, and state are working hard to build plans for utilization of the federal ARP funds that are coming. I’m impressed with the level of collaboration, though it’s still too early to share any clear plans forward. There is room for optimism. And among top priorities is support for business recovery.
 
See you in the trenches.
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B

As of Sunday, 3 new MN Deaths and a total of 101 new cases. COVID-19 positivity rate continues to decline, now at 0.61% as of Saturday, lowest numbers since March of 2020.
 
As of Friday, 66.7% of Minnesotans 16 and older have received at least one vaccine dose.  63.2% have completed their vaccine series.

State will give $250M to front-line pandemic workers. But which ones? As Minnesota Public Radio points out, various labor and industry groups are already angling for checks for their factions. This money is not from the state budget but, instead, from federal American Rescue Plan funds.
 
Bounce-Back Recovery Drives Inequality Higher. The current period of growing economic inequality reflects a significantly improving employment outlook among middle-income adults relative to stalled economic conditions for high- and low-income adults. The increase in inequality was driven almost entirely by the employment expectations component of the index, with the share of employed middle-income adults expecting to experience a loss of employment income in the next four weeks falling to 6.76 percent, down from 14.7 percent in May.
 
Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari is arguing against a quick return to interest rate hikes, a position that’s put him in a minority among Fed leaders worried about rising inflation. Kashkari, in an interview with Reuters, said he wants to keep the central bank's benchmark short-term interest rate close to zero through at least the end of 2023 to allow the labor market to recover more fully from the damage it sustained during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Capitol Hill:

• The House is set to take up a $547 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill, legislation that would remove Confederate statues from the Capitol and a measure to establish a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection.
• Months ago, President Biden unveiled the centerpiece of his domestic agenda: a two-pronged, $4 trillion effort to transform the U.S. economy by overhauling the nation’s infrastructure and expanding aid to families.
• 'We have a deal': Biden announces bipartisan infrastructure agreement: NBC NEWS: President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a deal on a bipartisan $1.2T infrastructure package, including more than a half-trillion dollars in new spending. But warned he would not sign it unless it was passed "in tandem" with a separate budget reconciliation bill that invested in social infrastructure and other Democratic priorities (that warning was walked back in later comments provided by the President (The Wall Street Journal) 
• On Tuesday, the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing titled "A Biased, Broken System: Examining Proposals to Overhaul Credit Reporting to Achieve Equity." Why it's worth watching: Democrats will discuss a proposal to establish a public credit registry within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The move would mean progress for one of President Joe Biden's priorities from his campaign- to call for more "inclusive credit scoring and create a public credit reporting agency." While that measure isn't likely to garner much bipartisan support, the idea of oversight over credit bureaus does: The panel's ranking member Rep. Pat McHenry (R-N.C.) has sponsored legislation in the past that would remove certain negative information from a customer's credit report, and that would give the CFPB more supervision and examination authority over credit bureaus. 
  
  

State:

• After more than one year, Gov. Walz is ceasing his coronavirus peacetime emergency executive powers on Aug 1. Republicans are advancing a bill to push for July 1.
• Minnesota House passes $7 billion transportation budget bill. On a unanimous 67-0 vote, the Senate passed a $7.8 billion omnibus transportation funding package Thursday, June 24, and sent it to Governor Walz for his signature. The measure helps jump start $3.68 billion in road construction projects; $300 million in highway expansion via the Corridors of Commerce program and $14 billion for local bridge improvements. Also included in the measure is $10M to leverage federal matching funds for a second daily Amtrak train between St. Paul and Chicago and money to outfit State Patrol troopers with body cameras.  Here's Move Minnesota’s take on what's included--and what's missing.
• Minnesota budget gels slowly but ‘end is not exactly in sight yet’: Minnesota lawmakers chipped away at a budget to-do list Thursday, passing more bills to keep government operations afloat next month while narrowing down areas where they’ve struggled to secure agreement.
• Minnesota lawmakers reach ‘general agreement’ on policing law changes but “the public safety/judiciary budget and policy bill, as the state’s chief executive put it Thursday, will be “the last plane to land.” 

 
Local:

• Rent stabilization petition headed to Ramsey County elections, and St. Paul voters. The goal is to put a “rent stabilization” question on the city’s November ballot. The critical analysis is compelling. And it’s notable that neither St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter nor Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have rallied to support it. Some critics call it a blunt tool that will benefit the rich as much, if not more so, than the poor, while potentially limiting the city’s tax base or raising taxes on other properties.

 

• This past Friday, the Saint Paul Planning Commission voted in favor of full elimination of parking minimums for developments. It now goes to the City Council where it is expected to pass. Minneapolis already passed similar legislation. The move should reduce overall costs for developments, and the policy is already in place downtown and along the Green Line.

The St. Paul Downtown Alliance continues planning its 300+ events downtown this summer. Check out the #WelcomeBackStPL website and events calendar. I attended the Ordway Cabaret: Live at the Loading Dock this past weekend. Was fabulous – and we loved sitting outdoors!
 
Be sure to come downtown the weekend of July 4: block parties, music, food trucks, and – wait for it – FIREWORKS! No, the City is not sponsoring – but the Saints and business are standing in the gap!
 
Want to get some tips on navigating today’s staffing challenges? Join us virtually on July 8.
Would you like to hear how others Dream Big and Wildly Succeed? Join us virtually on July 14 to listen to Ila Borders, a author, coach, scout, and fighter of gender barriers.  She’s hosted by Mike Veeck of the St. Paul Saints, and you are sure to be inspired.

7 policies in your employee handbook that need review soon: The link between the White House and an employee handbook is more direct than one might imagine: First, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act) regulates employee handbooks; second, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) interprets the Act; and third, Board members are appointed by the President.
 
Check out these 3 signs of remote work burnout.
 
Great article on Value disciplines: Customer Intimacy, Product Leadership and Operational Excellence. This article is from 2018, and yet it is helping us think through how we execute on excellence.

Best Buy to spend $1.2 billion supporting businesses owned by people of color. They will invest in venture capital firms, healp with supply chains and warehousing, and also with warehousing.
 
What companies can and can't do when trying to increase diversity: Experts say there are some legal considerations businesses should keep in mind as they seek to diversify their staffs.
 
Creating a healthy office: As Twin Cities employers continue to make decisions about their workers’ return to the office, they face a wide range of concerns from employees’ regarding health and safety. New protocols are being created that cover everything from seating arrangements and meeting size restrictions to mask-wearing guidelines and testing workers for symptoms of illness as they enter the building.
READ MORE
 
President Biden unveiled a new initiative aimed at curbing violent crime nationwide last Wednesday. The Twin Cities are among metro areas included in the Community Violence Intervention initiative.  
 
Building a Culture for Inclusive Recruitment & Retention. The Center for Economic Inclusion wrote this solid piece.
 
Business travel takes back seat as MSP rebounds: The industry has been recovering at a steady pace since the fall, though business travel is still mostly stalled – leisure travel is powering the recovery.

Met Council likely to award $200,000 toward Rondo Land Bridge strategy, Plaza del Sol makeover. Rondo Land Bridge is planned to extend from Chatsworth St. N. westward 6 blocks to Grotto St. N.
 
“Work-from-anywhere jobs – where are they? The 25 top companies hiring remote workers right now: The focus on remote work has only heightened amid what many experts are calling the "great resignation" or "great reshuffling" as workers flee their jobs at historic rates. Companies are upping pay, offering bigger bonuses and scrambling for workers as Covid-19 restrictions ease and the economy recovers.
READ MORE
 
The US labor shortage is a 'national economic emergency' getting worse by the day, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said. Most current state-level numbers on Minnesota job vacancies are from Q42020: over 127,000 job vacancies.  We also have 1.1 unemployed worker for each vacancy (although, as we discussed last week, the match between worker and job is really off).