Senator Jamie Pedersen was a guest speaker at the December meeting, where he discussed the coming 2021 Legislative Session. This session will be held remotely, which will make it different from previous sessions, and force legislators to focus their attention on fewer bills. Sen Pedersen expects that the Democratic Caucus will prioritize bills which fit into one of a few areas, which include covid-19 recovery, racial justice, and climate change.

Sen. Pedersen highlighted a number of different bills to expect. First, this is a budget year, and the budget is looking better now with an improved economic forecast. There will be a transportation package, and that will also be a major focus. There is a backlog of bridges and culverts that will need to be addressed in the package. Clean Fuels will come up again this year, and there is increased optimism about passing it out of the Senate. Updating the GMA, as proposed by Futurewise, is also expected to be a major bill. Some form of more progressive revenue, with clear goals about how it would be spent, will also come up.