Category: SD46

House DFL Statement on Insulin Legislation

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Today, Governor Tim Walz called on Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka to take action on insulin affordability and begin negotiations with the House. In an October 1st letter to Gov. Walz, House Speaker Melissa Hortman announced that she asked Representatives Howard, Liebling, Halverson, and Mann to serve on an Emergency Access to Insulin Work Group to meet with the Senate and resolve the differences between the House and Senate bills.

Speaker Hortman and Majority Leader Ryan Winkler released the following statements:

“Minnesotans need and deserve access to emergency insulin — which the Senate bill doesn’t provide,” said Speaker Hortman. “The House DFL remains ready to work with Senate Republicans and the Walz Administration to find a solution that serves the needs of Minnesotans and holds the pharmaceutical industry accountable. Lives are at stake and it’s time for Senate Republicans to come to the table and begin working on a compromise with us. Governor Walz and I have named the individuals who can start working on this right away. We continue to wait for Senator Gazelka to name which Senators will speak for the Senate in a work group so we can commence negotiations on a compromise. Simply reiterating that he has taken a position different from ours doesn’t help anyone get emergency access to insulin.” Continue reading “House DFL Statement on Insulin Legislation”

Rep. Stephenson & Lawmakers get Tough on Predatory ‘Robo-Calls’

House DFL logoSAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, State Representative Zack Stephenson (DFL- Coon Rapids) announced plans to roll out legislation to crack down on invasive and predatory ‘robo-calls’. House Commerce Chair Laurie Halverson (DFL- Eagan) and Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) joined Rep. Stephenson and are committed to advancing his efforts to strengthen consumer protection rights for Minnesotans.

“The explosion of fraudulent robo-calls demands a strong response, which is why I am today proposing the nation’s toughest anti-robo-call legislation,” Rep. Stephenson remarked.

According to the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Minnesotans have received over 387 million robo-calls so far in 2019, which is approximately 58 calls per impacted person. The pernicious nature of these robo-calls is dubbed as “spoofing” technology, which allows telephone calls originating from across the world to show up on a caller ID with a local area code. Eagan Police Chief Roger New reported last month that he expected telephone fraud to result in over $500,000 in losses just in his city. Continue reading “Rep. Stephenson & Lawmakers get Tough on Predatory ‘Robo-Calls’”

DFL Leaders Host Community Conversation on Cannabis in Minneapolis

House DFL logoMINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – Today, Majority Leader Ryan Winkler hosted a community conversation on cannabis with Assistant Senate Minority Leader Jeff Hayden, Sens. Bobby Joe Champion, Kari Dziedzic, and Foung Hawj; Reps. Raymond Dehn, Aisha Gomez, Fue Lee, and Diane Loeffler; and Associate Professor at Metro State University Dr. Raj Sethuraju at the Minneapolis Urban League.

The meeting was the second of 15 hosted by Rep. Winkler and legislators around the state to encourage Minnesotans to join the conversation on how to legalize and regulate cannabis for adult use.

“Minnesotans are asking us to change our cannabis laws because they are doing more harm than good,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “It’s been clear in our conversations that our current system is contributing to racial injustice, damaging public health, and limiting access for veterans.” Continue reading “DFL Leaders Host Community Conversation on Cannabis in Minneapolis”

Majority Leader Winkler Kicks Off Statewide Cannabis Conversations at State Fair

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Majority Leader Ryan Winkler today kicked off a statewide tour of 15 “Community Conversations on Cannabis” at the State Fair. The tour will encourage Minnesotans to join the conversation on how to legalize and regulate cannabis for adult use.

“Our current marijuana laws are doing more harm than good. It’s time to legalize cannabis to address the health and criminal justice inequities created by our current system,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “That’s why we’re inviting Minnesotans to join the conversation about how we will safely and responsibly create a comprehensive framework for legalization and the most thoughtful adult-use cannabis law in the country.” 

Details on the community conversations and updates on the effort to legalize cannabis in Minnesota are available on a new website. The first three will be in Duluth, Minneapolis, and St. Cloud.

In an op-ed written earlier this month, Rep. Winkler announced that legalizing cannabis for adult use will be a legislative priority during the 2020 session. Since then, the Majority Leader’s Office has been meeting with stakeholders to seek their input on crafting legislation.

House DFL Leadership Statement on Gun Violence Prevention Legislation

House DFL logoSAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – House DFL Leadership released the following statements today in response to Governor Tim Walz calling on Senate Republicans to hold hearings on two common-sense gun violence prevention measures that the DFL House Majority passed but were blocked by the Republican-led Senate.

“The DFL Majority in the Minnesota House passed two broadly-supported, common-sense gun safety measures to make our families and communities safer — criminal background checks and red flag legislation,” said House Speaker Melissa Hortman. “Minnesotans have been loud and clear that they want the legislature to take action to address senseless gun violence. The House has responded to this call to action. Senate Republicans should listen to Minnesotans and join the DFL-led House in supporting and passing these measures so we can send them to Governor Walz’s desk.” Continue reading “House DFL Leadership Statement on Gun Violence Prevention Legislation”

Statement from House DFL Leadership on Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act

House DFL logoSAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — House Speaker Melissa Hortman and House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler released the following statements on bipartisan negotiations on the Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act:

“I appreciate the work done by a bipartisan group of legislators to address insulin affordability and emergency access this interim,” said Speaker Hortman. “While it’s encouraging that they appear close to agreement on how a program would function, it seems the funding source remains a sticking point. Insulin costs have nearly tripled in the last two decades and the corporate greed fueling this crisis is unconscionable. That’s why the DFL majority in the Minnesota House passed and sent to conference a complete plan that would both help Minnesotans and hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable. We remain ready to move forward. I’m hopeful in the coming weeks we will be able to get an agreement with Senate Republicans on funding.”

“House DFLers remain committed to addressing the high price of insulin and standing up to the pharmaceutical companies profiting off of Minnesotans,” said Majority Leader Winkler. “This bipartisan progress is positive news, but there is more work to be done to finalize the funding source and ensure Minnesotans have access to the insulin they need to survive.”

Statement from House DFL Leadership on changes in leadership at the Minnesota Department of Human Services

House DFL logoSAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Today, Governor Walz announced Tony Lourey’s resignation as commissioner of the Department of Human Services, and appointed Pam Wheelock as acting commissioner.

House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Majority Leader Ryan Winkler released the following statements:

“We are grateful to Tony Lourey for his years of service and dedication to Minnesotans,” said Speaker Hortman. “The work of the Department of Human Services is critical to the people of Minnesota and we are ready to work with Governor Walz and his administration to ensure its success.”

“We have confidence in the Walz administration and look forward to working together with Interim Commissioner Wheelock to make sure the Department of Human Services serves the needs of Minnesotans,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler.

House Committee Holds Public Meeting to Discuss Improvements to Budget Process

House DFL logoSAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — On Wednesday, the Minnesota House Subcommittee on Legislative Process Reform held the first of several public meetings to review the legislative budget process and seek improvements. Nonpartisan staff gave an overview of legislative process reform, the budget cycle, and the omnibus bill process.

“Minnesotans expect and deserve a modern, efficient, and transparent legislative process,” said Speaker Melissa Hortman. “House DFLers have led the way in implementing reforms and are committed to improving public engagement in the legislative process.”

“The House DFL has consistently looked for ways to make our state budget process more open and transparent, which is why we established this committee,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “Minnesotans regularly lead the nation in civic engagement – it’s clear that they want and deserve the opportunity to provide meaningful input as new laws are considered.”

“Having recently completed our 17th special session in the last 21 years, we can see that work needs to be done to improve the legislative process,” said Rep. Gene Pelowski (DFL-Winona), Chair of the House Subcommittee on Legislative Process Reform. “I look forward to our efforts to meaningfully address reforms that would allow the legislature to meet its Constitutional responsibility of completing the legislative session on time with a balanced budget.”

In future meetings, committee members and stakeholders will continue to discuss challenges and possible opportunities to making the process of creating a state budget more open and efficient.

Sen. Ron Latz (SD46) Update: June 20, 2019

BUDGET RESERVE CORRECTION: JUNE 18, 2019

Last week, I sent out my post-session newsletter to those of you who receive my Senate District 46 Capitol Updates emails. The newsletter included an incorrect explanation of actions taken on our state’s budget reserve. In order to correct the record, I am sending a clarified and more detailed account of our state’s budget reserve that can be found below. I appreciate your patience on the matter.

Budget Reserve

The last time the budget reserve amount was set in statute was in Minnesota Session Laws 2016, Regular Session, Chapter 189. The amount of the budget reserve defined in statute was $1,596,522. Since then, the amount has fluctuated during various points in the accounting cycle as mandated by law (e.g. November forecast transfers of 33% of the positive budget balance, certain cancellations and surpluses that transfer into the reserve, and other one-time uses of the reserve in special law).

At the end of last session, the amount in the reserve was $1.583 billion. At the November 2018 forecast, the budget reserve level grew to $2.074 billion due to (1) $90 million in cancelled funds appropriated for the premium subsidy program being transferred into the reserve, (2) $47 million in surplus funds for the Workers Compensation Assigned Risk Plan being transferred into the reserve, and (3) $354 million being transferred into the reserve based on the requirements of 16a.152 Subd. 1b (b), which mandates a transfer of 33% of the positive unrestricted budget balance ($1.074 billion) projected at the close of the biennium, as measured at the time of November forecast. Continue reading “Sen. Ron Latz (SD46) Update: June 20, 2019”

Minnesota House DFLers Celebrate PRIDE; Reaffirm Commitment to Conversion Therapy Ban Legislation

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Heading into PRIDE weekend in the Twin Cities, House DFLers released the following statements in support of Minnesota’s LGBTQ community:

“All Minnesotans deserve to be safe and live with dignity, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Speaker Melissa Hortman. “House DFLers will continue working to promote equality and inclusion in all areas of Minnesota law.”

“Republicans blocked a ban on gay conversion therapy this year, but DFLers will keep fighting to end this harmful practice,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “We must continue working together to root out intolerance wherever we find it.”

“Conversion therapy is harmful, and has no place in legitimate healthcare in Minnesota,” said Representative Hunter Cantrell. “Despite the Senate stopping this extremely important bill last session, we will continue to work to ban LGBTQ conversion therapy for minors and vulnerable adults so that only the highest standard of credible mental healthcare is offered to patients in Minnesota.”

Majority Leader Winkler and Rep. Cantrell will join advocates at a closed-press roundtable on banning conversion therapy and other issues affecting LGBTQ Minnesotans later today. A ban on gay conversion therapy passed 72-53 earlier this year as part of the House Health & Human Services Omnibus bill. The measure failed as an amendment in the Republican-led Senate.