This week at the Capitol, you could almost just read last weeks’ update, as not much has changed. With the DFL State Convention this weekend in Duluth, and the Republicans heading to Minneapolis to endorse their state-wide candidates next weekend, the pause button was still pressed at the Capitol this week.
We did learn this week that the House is moving forward with an Omnibus Early Childhood Policy Bill, which will include all the non-budget items in the previously-passed Omnibus Early Childhood Finance and Policy bill. (The only budget item is use of the $7.5 million Basic Sliding Fee “under-spending.”)
How will this happen? The language will be amended onto the Senate companion for the “getting-ready-for-QRIS” bill, which passed the Senate last week and landed in House Finance, which will take it up on Tuesday. It will then go to House Ways and Means, then the floor of the House for a vote sometime in the next couple weeks, eventually back to the Senate for comparison, and, should the Senate not accept the amendments, onto conference committee. It’s exciting to have an Omnibus Early Childhood Policy bill this year! View the proposed House bill here.
The capture of the BSF under spending will move forward in the House Omnibus Health and Human Services bill, and line up with the Senate HHS bill in conference committee. This also means that, depending on what the Senate recommends, early care and education may not be a part of the Education Conference Committee.
The Conference Committee Tracker has been updated with notations about which pieces specifically are included in the House Omnibus Early Childhood Bill.
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