There are 18 days left in the legislative session. There is so much more work left to do before sine die on May 18th. On Monday, I urged my colleagues again to hear police accountability legislation. We saw accountability served in the courts with the trial of Derek Chauvin, but we need the same accountability to happen in the legislature. Legislation passed in June, after the death of George Floyd was the beginning of police accountability legislation. Yet, not a single bill on police accountability has been heard in the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee this year. Now, my colleagues say there is not enough time to hold hearings on police accountability legislation because we are too close to the end of the legislative session. If not now, when is the right time? View my comments in the video at the top of the newsletter.
You’re all likely aware of what happened at our own Plymouth Middle School on Monday morning – a student took their father’s handgun to school and fired multiple gunshots into the ceiling of a hallway. Thankfully, no students or staff were hurt, and the student was detained safely, but it was a truly horrifying event for our community and the state as a whole.
Every time shots are fired in a school anywhere in the U.S., I think of our critical need for basic gun safety legislation in Minnesota, including universal background checks and “red flag” laws – and, more directly related to Monday’s events, our need for a safe storage law like the one that exists in Massachusetts, which would require that all firearms be stored with a lock in place and that locks must accompany both dealer and private firearm sales (and that anyone found in violation would be prosecuted and liable for any damages). Despite my Republican colleagues’ stated unwillingness to engage on these issues or even hold hearings in the Senate, we will continue to urgently push these initiatives both publicly and privately.
On Monday this week we debated the Senate State Government and Elections omnibus bill. Included is the implementation of provisional balloting, restrictions on early voting, and a ban on localities being able to choose ranked choice voting. This type of voter suppression legislation runs contrary to our values as Minnesotans. Because of this, I voted against the bill.
We have to be vigilant in protecting our freedom to vote. On Monday, the Senate will once again be debating Voter ID. It is disheartening to see these continued attempts to make it harder for Minnesotans to exercise their civic duty. It will be a vibrant discussion, and I know that we will prevent this from becoming law.
Minnesota routinely leads the country in voter turnout because we trust that our elections are fair. What we should be doing is expanding the freedom to vote. We should be making it more convenient to vote, engaging more voters in the democratic process, and providing sufficient resources to our local election officials. Let’s keep working, and keep trying to increase voter participation until we reach that magical 100%.
At the Legislature, we’re buttoning up budget bills and conference committees have begun to meet. These committees are comprised of five House members and five Senate members to reconcile differences within each major area of the budget; Taxes, Education, Transportation, etc. I am pleased to report that the Speaker has named me House Chair of the Commerce, Climate, and Energy Conference Committee. In that role, I will be the principal negotiator for the House in the area of the budget for the Department of Commerce, as well as the policy provisions in the budget relating to commerce and consumer protection. I will also be deeply involved in the negotiations related to climate change and energy.
Late Monday, the Minnesota House passed its Health and Human Services Budget aimed at building a better health system for Minnesotans after the COVID-19 pandemic. The budget strengthens our public health systems, addresses health inequities, makes prescription drugs more affordable, and expands coverage for low-income Minnesotans. The bill also includes needed investments in affordable childcare for Minnesota families. I’m most pleased that the budget bill includes compensation raises for Personal Care Assistants. You can read more about the legislation here.
Yesterday, the Minnesota House took action to prevent a wave of evictions while ensuring landlords are reimbursed for rent owed to them. We approved a roadmap to transition off the current residential eviction moratorium by ensuring renters have enough time to access federal funding for rental assistance when the COVID-19 related peacetime emergency ends.
Final Budget Bill Advances
Monday, the House approved the Health & Human Services budget. The measure will help make affordable health care and prescription drugs a reality for everyone. You can read the House Session Daily story here.
We are entering the final weeks of the legislative session. This week, the Senate passed the final omnibus bills, and continued appointing conference committee members. As final budget discussions move forward, I’d encourage you to keep in touch if you have any questions. The legislature is required to adjourn by May 17th, and there is a lot of work to be done before then.
Tax Bill Doesn’t Meet Minnesotans’ Needs
The Senate passed a sparse tax bill this week that does little to meet the needs of Minnesotans recovering from the pandemic. In addition, because Republicans refused to even discuss raising new revenue to help fund future growth, the vast needs in education, housing, health care, broadband, and transportation are not addressed in any of the Republican budget bills passed during the past two weeks.
Of the total investments in the bill, $600 million was directed at businesses while just $54 million would have benefitted individual Minnesotans. Senate DFLers offered several amendments to raise enough new revenue to support the priorities that will help all Minnesotans recover from the pandemic and build a stronger future.
Full tax relief for unemployed Minnesotans was one of the most glaring omissions in the Republican bill. The federal government has allowed $10,200 in unemployment benefits received last year to be excluded from taxes to help those still recovering from employment changes. The Senate tax bill only provided an 18% subtraction. Senate DFLers offered an amendment to institute a temporary surcharge on net investment earnings over $250,000, affecting just 34,000 of Minnesotans doing the to help more than 550,000 of Minnesotans hit hardest. The amendment was rejected.
Several other amendments using a similar funding source also were rejected by Republicans. The original bill included $100 million in property tax breaks for business properties; Senate DFLers attempted to increase homeowner and renter property tax refunds to provide some parity. That same amendment would have conformed to federal tax changes that help Minnesotans paying off student loans or paying for childcare. Again, the amendment was rejected.
An amendment offering a tax reduction for the more than one million taxpayers in the first and second tax brackets also was rejected, as was an amendment providing an increase in the Working Family Credit for more than 350,000 low- and moderate-income working Minnesotans. Even an amendment providing a full Social Security benefit tax subtraction was voted down.
Republicans consistently said they agreed with many of the ideas offered by the DFL, but they simply did not have enough revenue to pay for those priorities. DFLers offered a responsible method to pay for the needs that past year has so clearly highlighted, so it was not a matter of having the revenue, it was a conversation about who is willing to do the work necessary to make sure those needs are met.
Bloomington Elementary Schools Art Show
I have enjoyed visiting the Bloomington Center for the Arts in person other years to see the art exhibit displaying art from Bloomington elementary schools. It’s nice to have a chance to view the art online this year. The organizers for the 2021 exhibit state: “In this year’s virtual exhibition 55 student artists were hand selected by their art specialists at Eleven Bloomington public elementary schools. While we’re unable to exhibit the young artists’ artwork in-person this year, we still celebrate their creativity and artistic expressions in this colorful and fun virtual exhibition video.”
RentHelpMN Launches
COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance is now live for renters who owe back rent. Assistance is also available for past-due utilities. Renters looking to see if they qualify should examine this document. Additionally, there is a landlord checklist for any landlords who have renters behind on their rent.
Help for homeowners is also on the way; to sign up for updates regarding the availability of mortgage assistance please click here.
If you have questions, feel free to call 211. Trained operators are available to answer any of your questions.
Comments on Health and Human Services Bill
After several hours of debate, the Senate passed the Omnibus Health and Human Services budget bill. I pointed out several areas where I felt the bill fell short, but as the Ranking DFLer on the Health and Human Services Finance and Policy Committee, I am committed to working to improve the bill.
With no additional general fund money dedicated to health and human services in their budget target, Senate Republicans are making it clear they won’t invest in sustainable resources Minnesotans need, like health care, homelessness supports, and affordable prescription drugs. Their bills are propped up by risky and unnecessary budgeting strategies that will undoubtedly create budget shortfalls in future sessions. In contrast, the House has over $300 million more dedicated towards HHS spending.
This bill continues an expensive reinsurance program without offering a vision for what the future of health care in our state might look like. There is money for an unclear drug reimportation program but no reforms that address the sky-high cost of prescription drugs. It also ignores needed funding for our state agencies, who have worked overtime during this pandemic to keep people safe.
This will likely be my final Email Update before the end of the 2021 regular legislative session. I look forward to having opportunities to connect with folks after the session ends, but you can always contact me at the email and phone number below. I hope you’ll continue to keep in touch if you have any questions or concerns you’d like to share!
We’re buttoning up budget bills in the House and conference committees have begun to meet. These committees are comprised of five House members and five Senate members to reconcile differences within each major area of the budget; ie. Taxes, Education, Transportation, etc. I’m pleased to share I’ve been appointed to the Environment and Natural Resources Conference Committee. I’m looking forward to this new opportunity in the House.
We have much work to do to ensure protections for our land, water and wildlife so that they will thrive for generations to come. The House omnibus includes my bill to create stable funding to research, prevent and treat aquatic invasive species in our lakes and another to continue the popular Lawns to Legumes program.
Here in Minnesota, we are continuing to make speedy progress vaccinating our entire state with over 3 million total doses and 56% of Minnesotans 16+ having received at least one dose. It’s important now more than ever to power through to the finish line and ensure the safety of all community members. Be sure to utilize the State Vaccine Connector to find vaccination sites near you, create an appointment, and keep up to date with the progress until we can safely reunite.
Mask Update: The CDC announced this week that vaccinated people can be maskless outside, except in large crowds. You can read more here.
Minnesota Maintains 8 Congressional Seats
On Monday we learned that Minnesota will maintain all 8 Congressional Seats which is welcome news. I am thankful for the Census workers and Minnesotans for ensuring all were counted. Minnesota’s new revised population count is 5.7 million residents. You can read more here.
With four weeks remaining in the legislative session, my colleagues and I are working hard to create meaningful change and develop a strong, equitable budget for the next two years. This week, we finished passing our budget bills, comprehensive plans for each area of the budget (E-12 Education, Health and Human Services, and so on) that contain many individual bills. Together, the budget bills reflect our vision for the future and the feedback we’ve heard from Minnesotans.
After the Senate passes their own budget proposals, legislators from the House and the Senate will meet in conference committees to develop bills that both bodies can agree on. Finding strong compromises will be difficult, but I will keep fighting to ensure that all Minnesotans have the resources to weather the pandemic and thrive in the aftermath.
I feel honored to sit on the conference committee for Public Safety, an issue in desperate need of reform. I have been very outspoken about a safer vision for a better Minnesota and the specific steps we can take to get us there through effective legislation. I am looking forward to engaging in the discussions and negotiations that can help get us there.
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA– Today, the Minnesota House approved an orderly off ramp of the eviction moratorium declared by Gov. Walz last year that will prevent a wave of evictions while ensuring landlords are made whole for rent that is owed to them. The bill provides a roadmap to transition off the current residential eviction moratorium by ensuring renters have enough time to access federal funding for rental assistance when the COVID-19 related peacetime emergency ends and provides clarity to the process.
“As more vaccines become available, the pandemic is easing, yet there are still many of our neighbors who are unemployed and face the risk of eviction.” said Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL-Saint Paul), chair of the Housing Finance and Policy Committee. “The eviction moratorium reduced the spread of COVID-19 and protected the most vulnerable Minnesotans from the threat of losing their home. We must continue to protect those Minnesotans once the eviction moratorium is lifted, and this bill provides a realistic timeline for both landlords and tenants to access the rental assistance that will keep people in their homes.”
“We hope the end of the pandemic is in sight, but we don’t want to replace a public health crisis with an eviction and housing crisis for Minnesotans,” said House Speaker Melissa Hortman. “Stable housing is the foundation for success for individuals and families. We must ensure a smooth, stable transition as we get to a post-COVID world and the end of the eviction moratorium.”
