Minnesota Legislature 2 , CD3 DFL

Rep. Laurie Pryor (HD48A) Update: July 14, 2021

Neighbors,

Thank you for joining Sen. Cwodzinski, Rep. Kotyza-Witthuhn and me for the District 48 virtual Town Hall on July 6. We answered your questions about the recently completed legislative session and the newly passed budget. As always, we always appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns and questions.

If you were unable to tune in to the town hall, you can watch here.

COVID-19 Vaccination Update

The Minnesota Department of Health reports more than 3 million of our friends and neighbors have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Although the pace of vaccination has slowed, it is still vitally important to get your vaccine to guard against the highly contagious Delta variant showing up in communities across the country and in Minnesota. We owe it to ourselves and our communities to protect each other from the virus.

Biden’s best ally in his push to upgrade infrastructure for climate change? Climate change.

Even if our planet were exactly the same as it was in 1950, key elements of the United States’ infrastructure are in need of repair. Highways need to be resurfaced or rebuilt. Bridges need to be reinforced. Public transit needs to be overhauled. Communications systems need to be upgraded.

But the planet is not exactly the same as it was 70 years ago. It is far hotter and its atmosphere and its oceans are more densely packed with carbon dioxide. The effects of this heat are myriad. One effect is, obviously, that temperatures are hotter than they used to be. That heat warms the oceans, causing them to expand and rise and causing them to store more energy that can power major storms. Warmer air also holds more moisture, meaning that storms over land result in more precipitation.

The combination of higher oceans and more rain increases the likelihood of flooding at the coasts. At the same time, that increased surface-level heat more rapidly strips away moisture, leading to deeper, longer droughts. Continue reading.

Speaker Hortman Issues Statement About Rep. John Thompson

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman issued the following statement.

“The Minnesota House of Representatives takes allegations of member misconduct seriously.

“There is a process in place pursuant to House Rule 6.10 whereby two or more members of the House may file a complaint about conduct by a member that they allege violates a rule or administrative policy of the House, violates accepted norms of House behavior, betrays the public trust, or tends to bring the House into dishonor or disrepute. Such a complaint, if filed, would be referred to the House Ethics Committee. To date, no House members have filed an ethics complaint regarding the allegations made against Representative Thompson.

“As in other instances of alleged member misconduct, in the absence of a formal ethics complaint, in my role as Speaker I will work with counsel to thoroughly investigate the law and facts, compare the alleged misconduct to prior allegations of wrongdoing by members of the Minnesota House and the resultant consequences, and act accordingly.”

DFL Party Statement on Representative Thompson’s Recent Actions

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Yesterdayday, DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement:

“Nobody is above the law, including our elected officials. We expect all of our elected officials, regardless of party, to not only follow the law, but to hold themselves to the highest standards. Whether they like it or not, their words, actions, and behavior are going to be scrutinized by the public. As such it is important for people in positions of power and influence to model the type of behavior we expect from everyone. Representative John Thompson fell short of that standard, and I am disappointed by his recent actions.”

Rep. Kelly Morrison (HD33B) Update: July 9, 2021

Dear Neighbors,

Last week, the House adjourned special session after finishing up work to pass a bipartisan state budget. As the only divided state legislature in the country, and with several challenges operating remotely amid a global pandemic, I’m glad we could find common ground on strategies to help our families, students, workers, and small businesses recover from COVID-19, and stabilize our local economy so everyone in our state can thrive. Here’s an update on our work from the Capitol:

Health and Human Services Budget

With a background in health care delivery and as a member of the Health Finance and Preventative Health committees, I’ve worked extensively in this area of the budget. Our Health and Human Services budget aims to improve Minnesota’s health care system and expand access to affordable care. It invests in our public health infrastructure, strengthens behavioral and mental health services, addresses inequities in maternal and infant health outcomes, increases pay for personal care assistants (PCAs) who help people live independently, and includes several pieces of legislation I carried including increased telehealth investments, Medical Assistance (MA) coverage for enhanced asthma care services, and expanded MA coverage for post-partum care for new moms from 60 days to 12 months.

Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart (SD44) Update: July 9, 2021

A message from your Senator

Constituents and friends,

The Senate adjourned our special session on Wednesday, ending this year’s legislative session in conjunction with the House, which had already adjourned its own session last week. We in the Senate remained in session for an extra week such that my Republican colleagues could take up consideration of several of Governor Walz’s unconfirmed commissioners. As they unfortunately showed last summer as well, they’re comfortable using the Senate’s advice and consent role as a political cudgel – they’ve allowed all but three of those 24 officials to serve in their roles for years without official Senate confirmation, holding the possibility of swift removal over their heads if they make decisions that Republican leadership doesn’t like.

As a result, Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Laura Bishop resigned her position on Tuesday to pre-empt her guaranteed removal by my Republican colleagues, who have long indicated their strong disagreement with her agency’s move to implement Clean Car rules in Minnesota. Thankfully, no other commissioners were ousted, though several informational hearings were held in which Republicans questioned commissioners’ job performance from a hyper-partisan perspective. Aside from this basic lack of necessity for our remaining in session an extra week, we wasted significant taxpayer funds in doing so: for all 67 Senators, the daily mileage and per diem allotments we receive add up to at least $8,000 per day, on top of salaries and staff expenses. This was nothing more than poor time and fiscal management by the Republican majority.

Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: July 9, 2021

Dear Neighbors,

I hope you and your family had a safe and relaxing July 4th! The mild weather we’ve had has been perfect for getting out into our community and exploring all our state has to offer.

Session ends

On July 1st the Minnesota House of Representatives finished approving a new two-year state budget and adjourned for the year. The Minnesota House, controlled by Democrats, and the Minnesota Senate, controlled by Republicans, convened for a special session on June 14th to finalize a bipartisan budget agreement and avoid a state government shutdown on July 1st.

As the only divided legislature in the nation we had an almost monumental task ahead of us this session. I am pleased that we managed to find a compromise which balances the budget, provides tax relief for the small businesses and workers who were hit hardest by the pandemic; and still invests significantly in education, healthcare, public safety and infrastructure. Our community has a ways to go before it returns completely to normal, but I am confident that we are well on our way with this final budget agreement. I look forward to seeing you all in the interim.

Senate DFL End of Session Review: July 9, 2021

Minnesota Senate DFL
End of Session Review

Following the murder of George Floyd and coming amidst the unprecedented public health emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Legislative Session opened with the opportunity to deliver the transformative change Minnesotans were demanding. Despite the promise of these changes, the 2021 Legislative Session ended with much of this work, and the completion of the two-year budget, undone.

Instead of focusing on the needs of Minnesotans, Senate Republicans focused on hyper-partisan and extreme legislation that would restrict voter access, discriminate against trans youth, reopen schools and businesses without safety plans or resources, and pushed to roll back clean air and water protections. Senate Republicans also continued to push the big lie that our elections were not free and fair, which is a cornerstone to our democracy.

Senate DFL Leader Susan Kent statement on Senate Republicans refusing to adjourn sine die in order to consider commissioner confirmations

Today, the Senate Republicans refused to adjourn the special session, even though the House adjourned sine die, and all 2of the budget bills have been signed by the governor, including the tax bill. On the Senate floor this morning, it was confirmed that the Republican Majority is planning to take up commissioner confirmations next week and extend the special session indefinitely.

In response to this news, Senate DFL Leader Susan Kent (DFL-Woodbury) released the following statement:

“The Senate has been in session consistently over the past 18 months. Our members and staff worked tirelessly to create and pass a $52 billion budget for the people of Minnesota and were ready to adjourn sine die, as the House did early yesterday morning. We were surprised to hear that the Senate Republicans plan to keep the Senate in session indefinitely to consider confirmations of commissioners from the Walz administration.”

DFL Party Statement on the Resignation of Laura Bishop

Saint Paul, MINNESOTA – DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin issued the following statement regarding the resignation of Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Laura Bishop ahead of her likely ousting by Senate Republicans:

“Today, Minnesota has lost a dedicated public servant due to the despicable behavior of Senate Republicans. Laura Bishop worked tirelessly as head of the Pollution Control Agency to defend our environment, protect public health, and hold polluters accountable, and I am tremendously grateful for her service to our state.

“Let us be clear about what happened today: Senate Republicans forced the resignation of the Commissioner of our Pollution Control Agency in order to defend big polluters, exact revenge on Governor Walz for his strong leadership during a once-in-a-generation public health crisis, and harm our ability to be responsible stewards of our environment. Senator Paul Gazelka’s pathetic temper tantrum just goes to show that Republicans will not let divided government work for the people of Minnesota.

“Paul Gazelka is profoundly misguided if he thinks trying to break our state government will help his run for governor.”

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Health and Human Services Budget

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A message from your Senator

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Session ends

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Minnesota Senate DFLEnd of Session Review

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Minnesota Senate DFL
End of Session Review