A shorthand guide to the 2019 legislative session

Jan. 05--The 2019 Minnesota legislative session kicks off on Tuesday. Here are six things to know about the upcoming session.

1 Single-payer health care.

Health care was a dominant concern of voters during the 2018 political campaign, and it is certain to be a marquee item during the five-month session. Will it lead to a public option for consumers? Single-payer?

Democrats say a single-payer plan will be part of the legislative debate, but it likely won't lead to passage of such a plan. Not this session.

"I don't think we're ready to go there yet," said state Rep. Tina Liebling, a Rochester Democrat and chairwoman of the House Health and Human Services Policy division. "But I do think we need to be kind of getting ready to move in that direction."

Liebling says the problem isn't limited to those without health insurance, which is a relatively small group of people. It also includes those who are insured but find the out-of-pocket expenses so exorbitant that it makes the insurance essentially worthless.

A public buy-in option through MinnCare would help address that problem.

"It's meant to provide an option for people who are paying full-freight, but need a more economical option and one with lower out-of-pocket costs," Liebling said.

GOP critics say the low reimbursements paid by the government would hurt care providers, particularly rural clinics and hospitals. But Liebling doesn't see that objection as a major roadblock, given that the state would have the ability to raise rates and "set them in a more reasonable manner."

2 Gun control.

Many DFL suburban legislators campaigned on supporting gun control measures, and it is certain such plans will get top billing at the Capitol.

After the gun slayings at schools in Parkland, Fla., and Santa Fe, Texas, a number of states moved to strengthen gun laws in 2018, but in Minnesota, Republicans used their majorities in the House and Senate to block such efforts.

Democrats say they will be focused on expanding background checks on sales and creating "red flag protective orders. DFL Gov.-elect Tim Walz, a gun-rights champion when he was in Congress, supports both measures.

Red flag protective orders allow police or family members to petition a court to temporarily seize someone's gun if they are deemed a threat.

But GOP critics say the DFL won't be content to stop there.

"All these things they are saying is just a side show," said Rep. Greg Davids, a Republican from Preston and a gun rights supporter. "In this business, you always have to ask the question: What's the question behind the question? And they want to ban guns."

3 $1.5 billion surplus! Real or not real?

It's a sign of economic health. More tax receipts rolling into government coffers than expected will frame the debate between Democrats and Republicans this session.

Democrats will see the surplus as an opportunity to invest in education, health care and other state priorities, while Republicans will argue that the money should be returned to taxpayers or that taxes shouldn't be raised.

State Rep. Gene Pelowski says the surplus is all a mirage.

Given the obligations that the state is already on the hook for, the Winona Democrat says "there is no surplus." Not with a 2 percent provider tax on hospitals set to sunset in 2019 and a $700 million hole to fill as a result. Not with a 7 percent cut to disability services enacted in the last legislative session that needs to be set right.

"At the heart of this is going to be how we you take this surplus, assess it's true level of worth," Pelowski said. "You have to factor in some bills we absolutely have to pay, and if we don't, we're in serious trouble."

4 Republican Senate + 1.

A major plot point of the 2019 session will be the GOP's one-seat majority in the Senate. The way the Republicans see it, it's all that separates the Democrats from dominating the session.

With the governor's seat occupied by a Democrat and the House having switched to the DFL, Republicans see their one-seat majority in the Senate as key to maintaining their relevance in the session. But can they?

By sticking together, the party will be able to negotiate from a position of strength and "accomplish some things" on a bipartisan basis, Davids said. But should the Senate majority crumble, it will be "Katy, bar the door," Davids said.

"I'm optimistic at this point that until I'm proven wrong they can stand up and do the right thing," Davids said.

5 Drama in the DFL House.

Some Republicans such as Davids are already referring to the DFL-controlled House as a "pretty left-wing crowd." It's not a new rhetorical trope. Yet even moderate Democratic voices are raising concerns about the direction the session could take if the DFL-controlled House uses its majority to go on a speeding spree.

Pelowski said he's already hearing stories of the surplus being spent "multiple times" over. He says that if DFL legislators fail to understand the reasons behind their House victory, they could be putting their majority at risk in the next election. Suburban districts went heavily Democrat, a shift many believe was driven largely by anti-Trump sentiment.

"The feedback we are getting now is that (new suburban legislators) were elected primarily as a reaction against Trump," Pelowski said. "That means they were not elected to go DFL leftwing cuckoo. If they decide to go down that path, then they're one-term legislators. This majority can vanish as quickly as it was created."

6 Legalizing marijuana.

Minnesota allows the use of weed for medical purposes. There likely will be a push to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes this session. When the voters of Michigan voted to legalize it in November, it became the 12th state to permit it. Will Minnesota become the 13th?

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