Minnesota House Democrats are arguing with Senate Republicans about how to distribute 841 million dollars in federal COVID assistance to Minnesota cities, counties and townships. Farmington Republican Pat Garofalo accuses Governor Tim Walz of sowing discord among lawmakers. Garofalo says, “If the legislature fails to reach an agreement on these items, the governor gets to make these decisions. He gets to take the federal funds and he gets to appropriate them where he wants.”
But Dilworth Democrat Paul Marquart contends the House shouldn’t just go along with a bill the Republican-controlled Senate passed Tuesday night. “The public deserves to be able to weigh in on a bill this size that’s going to impact all 5.6 million people in this state,” he says.