Walz extends emergency powers, triggering June special session

Gov. Tim Walz extended Minnesota's state of peacetime emergency for another 30 days on Friday, making it increasingly likely legislators will return to the Capitol for a mid-June special session.

The move into overtime legislative work has looked increasingly inevitable all week at the Capitol, where leaders in Minnesota's divided Legislature have failed to strike accord on broad numbers around the state's two-year budget despite a May 17 deadline to adjourn. And even if leaders strike a deal before Monday, they can't process and pass the massive budget bills in time.

"We don't know if we will have numbers ready or not by Monday," DFL House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler told members late Thursday night. "At this point in time it's quite clear that major legislation will still be on hold pending a June special session. This is the reality that we face and members might as well be prepared for it."

Leaders have been trading offers on the state's budget behind closed doors all week, but major divides remain on overall numbers, police accountability legislation and the spending of more than $2.8 billion in federal COVID-19 relief aid coming to the state.

Another sticking point in negotiations on the roughly $52 billion state budget is the matter of Walz's emergency powers, which have enabled him to impose sweeping mitigation efforts such as a statewide mask mandate and limiting the number of people inside bars, restaurants and other venues.

Republicans have called on Walz to end the state of emergency in Minnesota and relinquish those powers, despite the fact that Walz recently announced all restrictions would phase out by May 28.

On Friday, Walz also signed an executive order to lift the state's mask mandate, following new guidance from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings.

But Walz said he needed to extend his powers for another 30 days to continue the rollout of the state's vaccination program, provide COVID-19 testing and keep the flow of federal funding to the state.

"That progress puts us in a good position but we are not done," Walz said before a meeting of the Minnesota Executive Council, made of up statewide officials, which unanimously approved the extension. "We have a lot of work to be done around vaccination, testing and then there are practical matters around federal aid."

Lawmakers are automatically called into a special session if they are adjourned when the governor extends his emergency powers, meaning they'll be back around June 14 if Walz extends his powers again this summer.

Walz could also call a special session for lawmakers to finish budget work if he doesn't extend his emergency powers or if they reach an agreement sooner. Lawmakers must strike a deal before June 30 to avoid a state goverment shutdown.

Stephen Montemayor • 612-673-1755

Briana Bierschbach • 651-925-5042