Category: Minnesota Legislature

Thanks for streamlining bill process at Capitol

Quite often I may hear of frustration that someone made a change and then publicly denounce it with no information. I always wish that people would at least research why a change was made and then educate the public as to why the change was made. I’m particularly referring to the issue of one less agriculture committee at the Capitol.    

I communicated with Speaker of the House Rep. Melissa Hortman on this as I was curious. She told me she streamlined the committee structure to allow bills in some areas to move faster than they had in earlier committee configurations. Agriculture is one area she did that. Rep. Poppe and others had indicated throughout the prior biennium that bills relating to agriculture actually took twice as long to get through the committee process as they needed to, since they had to go through a policy and a finance committee.  Testifiers had to travel twice to the Capitol to provide the same testimony on the same bill, just in two different committees. By making one committee that has jurisdiction over both policy and finance, it will speed up consideration of bills in this area. Continue reading “Thanks for streamlining bill process at Capitol”

House DFL Majority Launches New Podcast

St. Paul, Minnesota – House DFLers today launched the Minnesota Values Podcast. It’s a new show that takes you behind the scenes at the State Capitol for a conversation about how House DFLers are putting Minnesotans’ values into action. Reps. Jamie Long of Minneapolis and Liz Olson of Duluth are the show’s co-hosts.

Click here to listen to the inaugural episode, featuring an interview with Speaker Melissa Hortman.

Current and future episodes of the Minnesota Values Podcast are and will be available on SoundCloud at soundcloud.com/mnValuesPod. Episodes will be added to major podcast directories like iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify soon.

“This new podcast tells the story of what House DFLers learned from Minnesotans during months-long listening sessions that took place throughout the state, and what we continue to learn through our work in and outside of the Capitol,” said co-host Liz Olson (DFL-Duluth). “We’ll specifically focus on our caucus’ first 10 priority bills and invite real Minnesotans to appear on the show as guests to tell their stories.” Continue reading “House DFL Majority Launches New Podcast”

Minn. House, Senate Members Introduce United Black Legislative Caucus

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Today, members of the Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate announced the first United Black Legislative Caucus as part of Black History Month. The goal of the caucus will be to elevate and advocate for issues relating to Minnesota’s black communities.

Rep. Ruth Richardson, Rep. Mohamud Noor, and Rep. Hodan Hassan joined the State House this year, creating a record number of black and Somali-American legislators in Minnesota.

The U.S. Census estimates the percentage of black Minnesotans in 2018 to be 6.4 percent, yet the United Black Legislative Caucus still makes up less than 3 percent of the state legislature. The Caucus hopes to address Minnesota’s unemployment, income, incarceration and homeownership gaps between black and white residents, which are among the worst in the nation. Continue reading “Minn. House, Senate Members Introduce United Black Legislative Caucus”

Moller bill strengthening protections against sexual harassment scheduled for House Judiciary Committee Thursday

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – On Thursday, the Minnesota House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Division will consider HF 10, a bill authored by Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL – Shoreview), to modernize Minnesota’s sexual harassment law to remove such behavior from Minnesota workplaces. For decades, courts have upheld an unreasonable “severe or pervasive” threshold when applying sexual harassment law, making it extremely difficult for those who have experienced harassment to see justice and accountability. Rep. Moller’s bill will remove this roadblock by providing much-needed clarification to Minnesota’s Human Rights Act.

WHAT: House Judiciary Division hearing on HF 10, a bill aimed at eliminating sexual harassment from Minnesota workplaces.

WHO: Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL – Shoreview), bill chief-author; Sheila Engelmeier, attorney, Engelmeier & Umanah PA; Leslie L. Lienemann, attorney, Culberth & Lienemann, LLP; Megan Peterson, Executive Director, Gender Justice; survivors of sexual harassment.

WHEN: Thursday, February 7, 9:45 a.m.

WHERE: Room 10, State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Saint Paul, 55155.

Rep. Long and Sen. Frentz introduce 100 percent clean energy bill

SAINT PAUL, MN — State Representative Jamie Long (DFL—Minneapolis) and State Senator Nick Frentz (DFL—North Mankato) have introduced legislation to move Minnesota towards 100 percent clean energy. This proposal would prompt the state to transition away from power sources that rely on fossil fuels in favor of renewable sources like wind and solar.

Thanks to advances in clean energy technology, Minnesota met its 25% renewable energy goal last year, seven years ahead of the schedule set in the 2007 Next Generation Energy Act. However, the state has failed to hit its targets for reducing greenhouse gases.

“Minnesota has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lead our nation’s transition to clean energy, create good homegrown jobs in this new economy, and be a part of building the solutions to climate change,” remarked Rep. Long. “I believe in our ability as Minnesotans to build a successful, thriving clean energy economy. Let’s once again set the national bar for a smart and ambitious transition to clean energy.” Continue reading “Rep. Long and Sen. Frentz introduce 100 percent clean energy bill”

English Language Learners Bill Receives First Public Hearing

SAINT PAUL, MN – Today, legislation to increase funding for English Language Learners (ELL) received its first hearing in the Education Finance Committee. Rep. Kaohly Her (DFL – St. Paul), a former ELL student and chief author of the bill (H.F. 448), advocated to significantly increase ELL funding to help address unfunded costs to school districts. Per-pupil funding for English Learners has not been increased since 2003.

“As a former ELL student myself, I know that language barriers can prevent students from participating in and advocating for their own education,” said Rep. Her. “With growing new immigrant communities in Minnesota, it’s important for us to ensure all Minnesotans receive appropriate funding for an education that prepares them to be successful in life after the classroom.”

ELL funding goes to research-based language instruction programs that help all students achieve language proficiency and high academic outcomes. Minnesota Local Education Agencies enrolled 73,128 ELL students in the 2018-2019 school year.

A companion bill, S.F. 26, is carried by Sen. Charles Wiger (DFL – Maplewood) in the Senate.

House OKs bill allowing homeowners to reject racially restrictive covenants

Homeowners who find racially restrictive covenants on their property titles could have an opportunity to place an affidavit on that title rejecting the covenant, under a bill passed 128-0 by the House Monday.

Sponsored by Rep. Jim Davnie (DFL-Mpls), HF51 heads to the Senate where Sen. Jeff Hayden (DFL-Mpls) is the sponsor.

“This bill confronts historical inequities so that we can also attack the inequities of today,” Davnie said.

View the complete February 4 article by Tim Walker on the Minnesota House of Represenatives’ Public Information Service website here.

Rep. Long and Sen. Frentz introduce 100 percent clean energy bill

SAINT PAUL, MN — On Tuesday, January 5, State Representative Jamie Long (DFL—Minneapolis) and State Senator Nick Frentz (DFL—North Mankato) will join environmental advocacy groups who have led the grassroots push for clean energy to introduce a plan to move Minnesota towards 100 percent clean energy. This legislation would prompt a transition away from power sources that rely on fossil fuels in favor of renewable sources like wind and solar.

What: 100 percent clean energy bill introduction

Who: Rep. Jamie Long and Sen. Nick Frentz

When: Tuesday, January 5 at 12pm

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

Minnesota House, Senate Members to Introduce United Black Legislative Caucus

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – On Wednesday, members of the Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate will announce a United Black Legislative Caucus as part of Black History Month. The goal of the caucus will be to elevate and advocate for issues relating to Minnesota’s black communities. 

WHAT: Press conference announcing United Black Legislative Caucus

WHO: Representative Ruth Richardson, Representative Mohamud Noor, Representative Hodan Hassan, Representative Rena Moran, Senator Bobby Joe Champion and Senator Jeff Hayden

WHERE: Room B971, Minnesota State Capitol, 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Saint Paul, 55155

WHEN: Wednesday, February 6, 2019, 11:00 am

English Language Learners Bill Receives First Public Hearing

SAINT PAUL, MN – On Wednesday, February 6, legislation to increase funding for English Language Learners will receive its first public hearing in the Education Finance Committee. Rep. Kaohly Her (DFL – St. Paul), a former ELL student and chief author of the bill, will advocate to significantly increase ELL funding to help address unfunded costs to school districts. Per-pupil funding for English Learners has not been increased since 2003.

What: First hearing on H.F. 448

When: Wednesday, February 6, 2019 at 10:15 a.m.

Where: Room 5, State Office Building

Who:

  • Chief Author Rep. Kaohly Her
  • Be Vang – Principal of Mississippi Magnet
  • Todd Sesker, Supt. of Faribault School District
  • Kiersten Nicholson, coordinator, English Learner Department, Osseo Area Schools
  • Representatives from the Coalition of Asian American Leaders
  • Representatives from Education Minnesota

A companion bill, S.F. 26, is carried by Sen. Charles Wiger (DFL – Maplewood) in the Senate.