The 2024 legislative session ended at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, May 19. By all accounts, its end was a raucous, wild ride. While detailed end-of-session analysis will take time, particularly breaking down details of the 1,000+ page "mega-omnibus bill" that passed in the session's closing hour, here are four items that did pass both houses and our Hill & Lake neighborhoods will notice:
1. Uber/Lyft Not Leaving
Front and center in the Legislature's final weekend was a legislative fix for the Minneapolis City Council's ride-sharing ordinance that caused both Uber and Lyft to threaten to leave the city. A proposed deal announced by some legislators earlier in the month prompted both companies to say that they would leave the state entirely, but a last-minute deal among all interested parties resulted in a statewide fix that will keep existing ridesharing in the state, with increased wages for drivers. Credit is being claimed all around, with supporters of the city ordinance saying its passage sparked statewide change, while opponents cast it as another instance of the legislature saving the city from itself.
2. Legislative Override of the 2040 Lawsuit
The many twists and turns of the lawsuit seeking to enjoin the city's 2040 comprehensive plan reached a potentially definitive end with the passage of a provision retroactively exempting city comprehensive plans from complying with the state's normal environmental mental protection laws. Earlier in the week, a panel of judges from the state court of appeals dealt the lawsuit a serious but not-necessarily-fatal blow by reversing the district court injunction against the 2040 plan. The new law, retroactive to 2019 (coincidentally, the passage date of the 2040 plan), has the potential to kill the lawsuit entirely. While passage of this provision is, at the least, a serious setback, plaintiffs in the lawsuit are not yet ready to throw in the towel and are reviewing arguments that could be used to challenge the applicability of the new law.
3. $9 Million for Workforce Center at Former YWCA Site on Hennepin
Inserted into the Transportation, Labor and Housing Finance Omnibus Bill, and chief authored in the House and Senate by local legislators Rep. Frank Hornstein and Sen. Scott Dibble, is a provision allocating $9 million for the Rise Up Center, described in legislative materials as "a 70,000-square-foot, geographically accessible, culturally competent, and economically sustainable hub for BIPOC-workforce development in the green building and clean energy fields." The center, proposed for the former YWCA site on Hennepin, is sponsored by a group of labor unions and nonprofits, and while a regular bonding bill failed to pass this session, the inclusion of this provision in the omnibus bill meant that Rise Up stood out where many other non-profit funding proposals failed.
4. Money for Hennepin Avenue Businesses
Included in the Employment and Economic Development Supplemental Budget Bill is $1 million in "Promise Act" funds for Hennepin Avenue and Uptown. Described as a "small business revitalization program that will provide grants and loans to disadvantaged businesses," the funds may be available to Hennepin Avenue businesses struggling with the pending roadway reconstruction. In total, the bill allocates nearly $100 million in Promise Act funds statewide over two years. Grant amounts range from $10,000 to $50,000 depending on revenue, and loans may be in larger amounts, with interest capped at 3%.
