With the dust settling on the 2021 legislative session, I wanted to share a series of “Top 10” lists with you this summer, based on our work this year. This week, I’m starting with the laws we passed in our new two-year state budget. Despite being the only divided legislature in the nation, we were able to secure a compromise on a strong budget that prioritizes those most impacted by the pandemic – families, workers, students, and small businesses.
With the end of the special session, my House DFL colleagues and I were able to push for a number of budget bills to help address the needs of all Minnesotans and small businesses. Vaccination numbers in Minnesota remain as one of the leading states in the nation, and group gatherings, festivals, and parades are showcasing the vibrancy of our community more than ever.
The bipartisan budgets passed to ensure Minnesotans can access resources, investments and recover from the impacts of this pandemic will be beneficial to the overall recovery of our state. If you’d like to get caught up on the bills we’ve passed, you can find nonpartisan summaries of the bills and the process around them here:
In the earlier hours of July 1, 2021 – the longest legislative session came to an end – at least that’s what it has felt like. We have essentially been in session for a year and half, since the pandemic began more than a year ago. Although a bit weary, and with a long to-do list still remaining, we have accomplished much in our work together.
We made the health of Minnesotans our top priority. Working with Governor Walz, we put in place the tools necessary to mitigate the spread of the virus, saving countless lives. Today, we are at a 70% vaccination rate of Minnesota’s adults, another milestone in our collective efforts to beat the virus.
We worked to protect the economic security of Minnesotans, especially those most impacted by the pandemic. COVID-19 has not been fair in any sense of the word. But through rental assistance, extended unemployment and other means, we strived to help Minnesotans keep their heads above water so they could provide and care for their families throughout the pandemic.
Over the past few weeks, we have been able to pass several key bipartisan budgets in a number of areas to ensure Minnesotans can access resources, investments and recover from the impacts of this pandemic. Below are some more information on what is included in these bills. In addition, please stay tuned for another update later this week on the rest of the budget topics!
Housing
Minnesotans deserve safe, secure, and affordable housing. The Minnesota affordable housing crisis predates this COVID-19 pandemic, but now, with the approved compromise agreement with the Senate on the Housing budget, will invest in innovative solutions to take on housing insecurity as we build back from the pandemic. This legislation protects renters and provides resources for housing providers whose tenants have not been able to pay rent during COVID-19. It also provides affordable housing around the state through public and private investments.
This Monday, we gaveled into special session to pass our state budget. Since the regular session ended we have continued to work hard to find common ground on outstanding issues so that we can pass our state budget for the coming two years. To that end, as I send this e-update, I am on the House floor to take up our Commerce and Energy omnibus bill. We hope to also take our Higher Education, Legacy and Agriculture budget bills as well. As we debate these final bills, I will provide updates on key provisions and welcome your input and questions.
While there are still contentious issues to be hashed out in areas like police accountability and public safety, I’m confident we’ll be able to come together and pass a budget that will help Minnesota bounce back from the past year.
Higher Education
All Minnesota families deserve a world-class education, no matter where they live or what they look like. Our Higher Education bill makes investments to ensure Minnesota students can recover from the unprecedented challenges they’ve faced over the past year, and that they are also ready to thrive as they move forward in the post-pandemic workforce, including key funding for the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State systems, as well as an increase to the State Grant program that will positively impact more than 75,000 students.
Our regular work session ended on May 17th. However, final details of our agreement are being ironed out in special session which began this week. House and Senate leaders and Governor Walz have reached a budget agreement that we are using as guidelines in our conference committee negotiations. We have reached agreements on our Energy/Commerce, Taxes, Higher Ed, Agriculture, and Legacy Finance budgets. Some of the more contentious bills like E-12 Education and Public Safety still have a ways to go however. Details on the overall budget agreement and what the special session looks like can be found here.
DFL Releases Eviction Off-Ramp
It is critical that we prevent a massive housing crisis as we begin to return to normal. The House DFL has a common sense plan to give everyone the time they need to catch up on their rent and mortgage. Watch our press conference to learn more about our plan. If you are behind on housing payments, apply for aid here.
The 2021 legislative session concluded this week – kind of. But the coffee is still flowing because now is not the time to sit back and settle for the status quo.
After several months of intense work, we reached agreement on a framework for our budget that prioritizes those most impacted by COVID-19 — students, workers, families, and small businesses. This wasn’t an easy haul, especially given a Senate Republican majority that was reluctant to move from their priorities that put the wealthy and well-connected first.
Today, we’ll be on the House floor to vote for a bill that would legalize and regulate cannabis for adult use, and expunge the records of those convicted of nonviolent cannabis-related crimes. I will be voting yes.
There are a number of reasons why it’s time for Minnesota to legalize adult-use cannabis, but at the top of the list for me is its impact on racial justice. Despite comparable usage rates, Black Minnesotans are 5.4 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white Minnesotans, and our state ranks 8th in the largest racial disparities in marijuana possession arrests.
Our current laws are doing far more harm than good, with the data showing that all they’re really accomplishing is an exacerbated racial divide in our justice system, punishing Minnesotans for possession of a substance that a growing number of states have managed to successfully legalize for adult use.
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!
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.”
