After a three-week boycott of the Minnesota House by Democrats in a power-sharing dispute, lawmakers have to make up for lost time. On Wednesday, they took up bills on everything from light rail funding to Social Security income taxes in the House and harsher penalties for high-speed chases and curbing state government fraud in the Senate.

 “We should be considering bus rapid transit before we think about another mile of rail, light rail, in this state,” said Rep. Kristin Robbins (R – Maple Grove).

She’s authoring a bill to put a moratorium on any future light rail project spending until after the overbudget and overdue Southwest Light Rail line is open and generating revenue. That could be two years from now or longer.

Judd Schnetnan of the Metropolitan Council said that could add costs to the “Blue Line” light rail project in the planning stages in the north metro. “For a project this size the cost of delay is in about the $100 million a year range just based on inflation,” he told the House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee.

The bill passed the committee and is headed to the House floor.

A debate in the House Taxes Committee focused on whether Minnesota should remain one of the few states still taxing Social Security income. “Minnesota remains as an outlier,” says Rep. Aaron Repinski (R – Winona,) author of a bill to eliminate the tax. “It’s literally one of eight states that taxes residents Social Security income.”

Opponents say it will create a nearly billion-dollar hole in the state budget every two-year cycle even though the tax has already been eliminated for all but the highest income Social Security recipients.

“It’s estimated that today nearly 80% of all Minnesota families that receive Social Security income do not pay state income taxes on those benefits,” said Nan Madden of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, an opponent of eliminating the tax.

The Social Security bill passed along party lines and is headed to House Ways and Means.

The Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee held informational hearings on three bills calling for enhanced penalties for fleeing police in a motor vehicle. No votes were taken, but there appeared to be bipartisan support for law enforcement.

 “These dangerous incidents put law enforcement officers, innocent motorists, and pedestrians at severe risk,” said Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson, representing the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association. 

Also, in the Senate, Republicans revealed eight bills aimed at rooting out fraud in state government spending, ranging from enhanced whistleblower protections to the creation of an “Office of Inspector General” to oversee state agency spending, among several others.

“Governor Walz says we want to turn the dial on fraud,” said Sen. Julia Coleman (R – Waconia). “But I think it’s time to pull the fire alarm.”

Governor Tim Walz and legislative Democrats also have bills aimed at fraud, epitomized by the $250 million “Feeding our Future” fraud scandal and more recent reports on 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS regarding childcare fraud.