Debate over paid family and medical leave is heating up at the State Capitol, Governor Tim Walz taking Senate Republicans to task Friday for not even having a hearing on the bill: “Why can’t we simply have an open debate on this?” the governor asked. “If you want to vote on it and say you’re not for this, then do that — but hiding behind the idea that we don’t even have to talk about it cannot stand.”
Meanwhile, Republican Senator Eric Pratt accused House Democrats of holding an improper hearing on a jobs-and-energy budget bill to push paid family leave. “This is, in my view, a hyper-partisan show and seriously puts at jeopardy the ability of this committee to get its work done on time,” Pratt says. There are just over two weeks remaining in the regular legislative session. If lawmakers and Governor Walz can’t agree on a state budget, a special session will be necessary.