Transportation, Housing, and Labor Omnibus Bill Conference Committee Begins Its Work
House and Senate conferees met to start reconciling the differences between the chambers’ respective bills.
On May 1, HF 5242 (Rep. Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis) was amended and passed off the House floor on a vote of 69-60. On May 6, the Senate passed its version, SF 5284 (Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL Minneapolis), as amended, on a vote of 36-31. With the bills containing differing provisions, a conference committee was formed to reconcile the differences between the two bills.
Members of the conference committee include:
- Frank Hornstein (DFL-Minneapolis)
- Mike Howard (DFL-Richfield)
- Brad Tabke (DFL-Shakopee)
- John Petersburg (R-Waseca)
- Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis)
- Jen McEwen (DFL-Duluth)
- Lindsey Port (DFL-Burnsville)
- Kelly Morrison (DFL-Deephaven)
- Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove)
Meeting and bill details
The omnibus bill comprises the supplemental budget bills for transportation, labor, and housing. View a side-by-side comparison of the transportation provisions (pdf) , housing policy provisions (pdf), housing finance provisions (pdf), and labor provisions (pdf) in each bill.
The conference committee had its first meeting on May 10 during which House and Senate research staff walked through the bills’ provisions and differences. It met again May 13 to begin reconciling bill differences and to adopt language to be included in the final conference report.
The bills include several sticking points, including provisions related to employment, greenhouse gas mitigation, and limiting rent increases for low-income senior housing, as well as a broad building material design standard preemption provision in the Senate bill, which was added via an amendment on the Senate floor.
League staff will continue to monitor the legislation and advocate on behalf of cities as it works its way through the conference committee process.