What’s ahead for Session?

The Minnesota Chamber's annual Session Priorities event was hosted on Monday night, and your Chamber public affairs team was happy to be back in person for this annual event. Special thanks go out to Board Chair Marcia Droege and Representative Keith Franke for joining our table. 

The program included a panel discussion with the four legislative leaders: House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, Speaker Melissa Hortman, Senate Minority Leader Melisa Lopez Franzen, and Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller. The four leaders have some major and minor differences over policy (paid family leave, recreational marijuana, size of the bonding bill) but also seemed to agree on quite a few topics, including two that are top priorities for our Chamber: public safety and the need to refill the Unemployment Trust Fund without putting a tax increase on our member businesses. All four agreed that the UI issue should be fixed "soon." 

Governor Walz was interviewed by KSTP's Tom Hauser on a laundry list of topics. I found the Governor's remarks to be candid. When asked about looking back on the decisions he made in the first year of the pandemic, he defended the decisions, but also expressed regret for things that could have been done to support businesses.  “In retrospect, if we were asking businesses to close in the name of public health, we absolutely had the responsibility to make sure we try to offset some of that revenue loss. And we didn’t. That said, in Minnesota, we struck a pretty decent balance. Across the 50 states, MN ranked among the top 5 states in terms of mortality rates, hospital capacity, days in the classroom, and economic activity. We made our decisions based on the best knowledge we had at the time.”

All in all, I thought the discussion was positive, and there seem to be places for the legislature to work together. We'll see if that goodwill gets extended into the session. With every member of the legislature and the Governor on the ballot this year, the stakes are bound to be a lot higher. Your Chamber team will be engaged throughout the session, so if you have a question on an issue, feel free to reach out to me, Shannon or JP. 
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See you in the trenches.
B

• The CDC has begun to publish data on COVID outcomes among people who have received booster shots, and the numbers are striking. Vaccination without a booster provides a lot of protection. But a booster takes somebody to a different level. The data underscores both the power of COVID vaccines and their biggest weakness – namely, their gradual fading of effectiveness over time.
• As the Omicron wave grew, Minnesotans adjusted quickly, kept going out. Businesses haven’t seen as much of a drop as in previous COVID-19 waves.
• Earlier this month, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to block the vaccine requirement, such that the Biden Administration scraps COVID vaccine mandate for large employers.

• Interesting Q&A with Tony Weick of Bell Bank on what 2022 might bring for interest rates, housing inventory, home construction, and more.
• Morning Consult’s January Consumer Spending Report: household spending increased as incomes rose and financial situations improved.  
• This week’s update from the Federal Funding Hub. Lots of city and county ARPA updates and resources in the past week. 
• With 5.7% growth in 2021, the U.S. economy expanded at its fastest full-year rate since 1985, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Growth happened more rapidly at the end of the year, increasing at a 6.9% annual rate from Oct – Dec.
• On Thursday, DEED launched the 2d round of Main Street Economic Revitalization Program funding. Request for proposals (RFPs) are being accepted; proposals are due by 4 p.m. on February 28, 2022.

Public Safety:

• Hennepin County judge released a defendant from custody who subsequently disappeared. Questions are being asked….
• Three ex-cops’ trial in Floyd killing enters second week. Road closures continue and, thus far, two organized demonstrations. The prosecution appears to be slightly over halfway through its witness list. At this point, the anticipated timeline of 3-4 weeks of testimony is on track.
• Here is where carjackings happened in St. Paul in 2021 – there were roughly 100 carjacking incidents in the capital city last year.

 
State:

• Today is the start of the 2022 legislative session. Another year as the only divided state legislature in the country. Key this year will be big surplus and big stakes for the projected $7.7B budget surplus. To my way of thinking, of particular interest will be consideration of inflation – not reflected in the budget forecast. Inflation alone is expected to increase the cost of existing state programs by $1.1B over the next biennium.
• For this session: what’s at stake, issue by issue.

 
Regional

• Candidates line up for St. Paul legislative races in advance of precinct caucuses.

 
 Read more updates in our weekly Chamber Advocacy Update.​

• Our biggest event of every year is our Annual Meeting. More crucial than ever today is cyber security, and we’ll be hearing about that this year from this country’s preeminent voice: Join us on February 17 at RiverCentre to hear from the Director of the NSA/Cyber Command, General Paul Nakasone.
• Leadership Saint Paul’s 2022 class (best class ever?) kicks off in March.  If you looking to participate in this phenomenal leadership program and build a cohort of relationships to stay with you for the rest of your career, check it out! Applications can be submitted through the end of the month.  ​
• Delta is ranked #1 U.S. airline by Wall Street Journal. This during a year when the MSP airport served almost 70% more passengers in 2021 than 2020.

• What leadership qualities should you avoid – and questions to consider to maintain to help you think through each.
• Looking for suggestions on pay, perks, and remote work in today’s red-hot labor market? KPMG’s US CEO has thoughts.

• New affordable apartments by Hmong developer, JB Vang, to open on St. Paul’s East Side. The Parkway Apartments at 1428 – 7th St E will include 60 units of deeply affordable and Section 8 eligible housing.
• Just one example of how subcontractors have taken a hit during the pandemic – further amplifying the need to invest in our commitment to small and disadvantaged businesses.
• Minnesota Housing has announced that its emergency rental assistance program is ending, as the state has nearly depleted the $518M received through 2 federal COVID-19 relief packages. Housing is a Foundation, not a commodity. The Twin Cities has the worst housing shortage in the country. Minnesota Housing Commissioner Jennifer Ho continues to advocate for more funding from the state legislature and federal government. There is not enough funding to keep up with the demand. “Speak up for housing developments proposed in your community. The private market is successful in creating market-rate and luxury apartments, but does not finance more affordable homes well because the deals do not [make sense financially]," says Ho.

• Post-COVID real estate strategies: demand continues as demonstrated by the University Crossing medical office and industrial bldg. in St. Paul’s Midway selling for $14.8M, about 18% more than the property traded for in 2019. This is a new high water mark for industrial tech assets. Ryan Co’s also is doubling down on industrial.
• St. Paul commercial-industrial permits were up in 2021, thanks in large part to a flurry of construction in early 2021. In December of 2021, the month finished about 25% down from December of 2020.
• Kaeding Development Group restarts construction on the downtown St. Paul 120-room hotel project destroyed by arson.
• Met Council approves use of contingency funds and next steps to advance Metro Green Line Extension.