Category: Minnesota Legislature

Tuesday at 11: News conference announcing new comprehensive plan to make prescription drugs affordable and accessible for Minnesotans

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – On Tuesday, March 26 at 11 a.m. in Capitol Room B971, DFL lawmakers and the parents of Alec Smith are announcing a new comprehensive plan to make prescription drugs affordable and accessible for all Minnesotans. Alec died in 2017 at age 26 because he could not afford to pay the $1,300 cost of his insulin prescription.

This is an opportunity for reporters to learn about DFL lawmakers’ new plan (scope extends beyond insulin), listen to Minnesotans talk about the plan’s impact on their lives, and ask questions.

Who:

  • Nicole Smith-Holt and James Holt, Jr. (parents of Alec Smith)
  • Majority Leader Ryan Winkler
  • Rep. Michael Howard
  • Rep. Laurie Halverson
  • Rep. John Lesch
  • Rep. Kelly Morrison (physician)
  • Rep. Alice Mann (physician)
  • Rep. Hunter Cantrell
  • Rep. Kristin Bahner

When:  Tuesday, March 26 at 11 a.m.

Where:  Capitol Room B971

Sen. John Hoffman (SD36) Update: March 22, 2019

WEEK Eleven Friday March 22

 Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Spring is here and next week will be the last before second deadlines for bills. I will have at least five being heard next week and more may be added. Below you’ll find the current list of my bills.

My Bills

There are two important things I want to bring before your eyes that happened this week. First, Thursday was World Down Syndrome Day. We celebrated all of our wonderful people who live, laugh and thrive no matter their chromosome count.

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Second, I feel we displayed unity across several fronts. There was a tragedy in New Zealand that affected people of all races and religions. It is in times like that we must come together and we did come together to mourn the lives that will be missed after a horrible act was committed. Continue reading “Sen. John Hoffman (SD36) Update: March 22, 2019”

Contrasts are big in the DFL and GOP budgets

Elections are about choices.

Right now, Democrats and Republicans are offering Minnesotans a strikingly different vision for our future. When you look at the budgets that DFL Gov. Tim Walz and Republican President Donald Trump just released, the divide between our plans, our values and our vision is clear. On issue after issue, the DFL is investing in Minnesotans while the Republican Party is attacking what makes Minnesota great.

DFLers know that health care is a right, not a privilege for the wealthy. That’s why Gov. Walz’s budget works to expand access to the care that all Minnesotans deserve. Walz wants to invest in a high-quality public option, ONECare, expand low-cost care options in Greater Minnesota and lower prescription drug prices. These are smart, sensible investments in the health and well-being of folks all across the state. Continue reading “Contrasts are big in the DFL and GOP budgets”

Minnesota House DFL to release framework for Minnesota Values Budget

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Minnesota House DFL leaders and legislators will announce committee targets and the framework for the Minnesota Values Budget at 1:00 PM on Monday, March 25th.

WHO: Speaker Melissa Hortman, Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, Majority Whip Liz Olson, Rep. Lyndon Carlson, Rep. Paul Marquart

WHAT: Press conference to announce targets and framework for the Minnesota Values Budget

WHERE: Minnesota State Capitol Press Conference Room B971; 75 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55155

WHEN: 1:00 PM, Monday, March 25, 2019

Senate DFL Week in Review: March 21, 2019

WEEK ELEVEN: March 21, 2019

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Divided government is not working in Minnesota

At the close of another week of session, despite promises of working together and getting things done, Senate Republicans continue to obstruct, block, stall, and delay important legislation to move Minnesota forward.

Reducing the price of insulin is one of the issues waiting to be addressed. Both Republican and DFL legislators have been denied hearings on bills addressing the exorbitant cost of insulin despite strong bipartisan support. Continue reading “Senate DFL Week in Review: March 21, 2019”

House passes bill that would change legal definition of sexual harassment

The definition of sexual harassment in Minnesota law could be changed to clarify that sexually offensive behavior need not be “severe or pervasive” in order for it to be subject to litigation.

That legal standard, currently being used by Minnesota courts, has made it extremely difficult for those who have experienced sexual harassment to seek justice and accountability in the courts, said Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL-Shoreview). “This bill is necessary to ensure that workers are safe in their workplaces.”

She sponsors HF10, which, as amended, was passed 113-10 by the House Thursday. It now goes to the Senate where Sen. Kari Dziedzic (DFL-Mpls) is the sponsor.

View the complete March 21 article by Tim Walker on the Minnesota House of Representative Public Information website here.

Senate Republicans revive private school scholarships plan

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Senate Republican leaders said Tuesday that a proposal to turn tax credits into scholarships for low- and middle-income students to attend private schools is a priority for them, and they hope to make it the subject of late-session negotiations with Gov. Tim Walz and House Democratic leaders.

Senate Taxes Committee Chairman Roger Chamberlain is making another run at passing the proposal, which he also pushed in 2017 until GOP leaders dropped it amid a veto threat by then-Gov. Mark Dayton. Since then, Walz, a Democratic former public school teacher, became governor and Republicans lost control of the House. Chamberlain touted it as a way to reduce the state’s large achievement gaps affecting students of color.

“Certainly the governor has a lot of proposals that we have not been agreeable to,” Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said at a news conference, flanked by a racially diverse group of children who attend private schools. “But this is an important one to us. Negotiations at the end are a bit of give and take, and this is a high priority for us. … We’ll fight for this one. We think it matters for kids in Minnesota.”

View the complete March 19 article by Steve Karnowski on the Associated Press website.

Speaker Hortman and House DFLers’ letter to President Trump and Congressional Delegation

Today, Speaker Melissa Hortman and Minnesota House DFLers have sent the letter accessible with the link below to both President Trump and our Minnesota Congressional Delegation asking for DED (Deferred Enforcement Departure) protections for Minnesota’s Liberian community be extended.  These are set to expire on March 31, forcing people who’ve lived here for decades, some all their lives, to leave Minnesota and the United States.

Minnesota has one of the largest Liberian communities in the United States.  These people came her seeking asylum from the genocide going on in their country.  The country of Liberia continues to experience unrest.

You can read the letter below: Continue reading “Speaker Hortman and House DFLers’ letter to President Trump and Congressional Delegation”

House HHS Finance Division to discuss Health Care Access Fund’s future today

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – During its Wednesday afternoon meeting, the House Health and Human Services Finance Division will hold a public hearing on the future of Minnesota’s Health Care Access Fund. The panel, chaired by Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester), will hear presentations from officials including Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm, Department of Human Services Commissioner Tony Lourey, officials from Minnesota Management and Budget, and others.

The Health Care Access Fund primarily allows low-income Minnesotans to access health care through Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare. Funding comes from a provider tax which, absent legislative action this year, is set to disappear. This comes after Republicans have already siphoned money away from the fund for their insurance company subsidy, reinsurance. Without the Health Care Access Fund, access to affordable health care for many Minnesotans could be put at risk. House DFLers and Governor Walz are committed to protecting this priority, meanwhile, Republicans haven’t offered any plan to account for the elimination of this funding.

Livestreaming of the hearing is available here courtesy of House Public Information Services.

WHAT: Minnesota House Health and Human Services Finance Division public hearing on the future of the Health Care Access Fund

WHO: Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester), committee chair; Jan Malcolm, Commissioner of Health; Tony Lourey, Commissioner of Human Services

WHERE: Room 200, State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Saint Paul

WHEN: Wednesday, March 20, 6:45 p.m. (updated 3/20/19, 2:19 PM)