When we return from our Easter and Passover recess on Tuesday, the Minnesota Legislature will face our final weeks of session.

The House committees have finished their finance bills, which will make up our proposed state budget, and we will discuss, debate, and vote on these bills beginning Tuesday, April 23. These finance bills all take on a portion of Minnesota’s budget, encompassing legislative investments surrounding specific topics for each bill.

As chair of the House Agriculture and Food Division, my chief responsibility was to craft two omnibus bills, one for ag policy and one for ag finance. The ag finance bill, which is expected to be heard in the next two weeks, invests in a number of things important to agriculture and food. All of the finance bills should make it off the House floor by May 1.

It’s a goal of the House DFL to steer clear of past legislative practices that included combining multiple budget topics into one super omnibus finance bill, like last year’s heavily-criticized “Omnibus Prime” bill, which didn’t receive Governor Dayton’s signature. Improving the process paves the way for the Minnesota House to craft finance bills intended to compliment a same or similar committee structure in the Senate. There will be enough policy and fiscal differences to deal with, so not adding challenges regarding structure and process is a good first step. This structure also creates a more transparent and responsible legislative process.

We’ll be taking up our first two budget bills on Tuesday with the Jobs/Economic Development and E-12 Education finance bills. The majority of the day on Tuesday, and for the rest of the week, will consist of members debating these bills on the House floor. Both bills serve as starting points for negotiations with the Senate.

The other omnibus finance bills expected to be taken up on the House floor this week include Health and Human Services, Higher Education, Taxes, and Transportation, with more the following week. The Senate, for the most part, will be doing the same thing, though the priorities in their budget bills will differ from those in the House.

Per an agreement between House Speaker Melissa Hortman, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, and Governor Tim Walz, both the House and Senate are required to pass all of their finance bills off their respective floors by May 1. Once passed, conference committees made up of House and Senate members will be appointed to reconcile differences in each of the budget areas, completing their work by May 13.

As the chief author of agriculture and food bill(s), I expect to be named to corresponding conference committee(s). After May 13, we will have one week to pass these negotiated budget bills before session adjourns on May 20. It is certainly a tall order to get the work done by our constitutionally required date.

The toughest challenge likely falls to leadership of the House and Senate along with the Governor to determine how much money to spend within each budget division. They are expected to set those budget targets by May 6.