State Issues 21 , CD3 DFL

Despite hurdles, Minnesota DHS chief continues push to clean up agency’s financial mess

But auditor’s report is expected to reveal more grant oversight failures.

In the fall of 2019, only weeks after taking the helm of Minnesota’s largest state agency, Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead was thrust into a political firestorm over her department’s mishandling of tens of millions of dollars in Medicaid funds.

Before a chamber of angry lawmakers, Harpstead pledged to rebuild trust in the $21 billion agency, reinforcing her point by testifying next to a plaque with the word “trustworthy” etched in granite.

“There is nothing more important for the Minnesota Department of Human Services than to be trustworthy,” she declared. Continue reading.

Derek Chauvin trial: 911 dispatcher testifies ‘Something was not right’ during arrest that led to George Floyd’s death

First witness takes stand following opening statements.

Attorneys in the Derek Chauvin murder trial on Monday made their case before jurors who will decide the fired Minneapolis police officer’s fate in the killing of George Floyd 10 months ago.

An opening statement from prosecutor Jerry Blackwell began shortly before 9:40 a.m. in front of a global livestream audience in downtown Minneapolis in the heavily guarded Hennepin County Government Center and explained how the state will prove that Chauvin killed Floyd and should convicted of murder and manslaughter.

Nearly an hour later, defense attorney Eric Nelson followed with his opening statement and declared that Chauvin acted precisely as his training taught him. Continue reading.

DFL Hits Rep. Mortensen With Campaign Finance Complaint

Mortensen broke the rules by controlling an unregistered political committee

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota DFL Party filed a complaint against Representative Erik Mortensen and the North Star Liberty Alliance with the Campaign Finance Board related to NSLA’s failure to register with the Board and Rep. Mortenson’s illegal exercise of control over the political committee.

The North Star Liberty Alliance is an overtly-partisan organization focusing its attacks on the “radical left” and its other political enemies. As such, it is required to register with the Campaign Finance Board and disclose all of its contributions and expenditures. Instead, it hides its activities behind the false mantle of non-partisan organization focused on promoting liberty.

Rep. Mortensen pulls the strings of the Alliance and recently sent a fundraising letter describing all of the things “we” will do to defeat his political opponents. This is a violation of Minnesota campaign finance law, which prohibits candidates from exercising direct or indirect control over a political committee. A copy of the complaint has been attached to this email.

All Minnesotans 16 and older will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccine starting March 30

Starting Tuesday, the expanded eligibility will add 1.2 million Minnesotans to the pool of candidates.

The COVID-19 vaccine will be available to all Minnesotans 16 and older beginning Tuesday, Gov. Tim Walz announced Friday morning.

A statement from the governor’s office said Minnesota’s most critical goal is getting “as many Minnesotans vaccinated as quickly as possible to end this pandemic,” which is showing signs of increased activity in the state again.

“Minnesotans have done a remarkable job helping our most vulnerable get vaccinated and waiting their turn,” Walz said in a statement prepared ahead of a live video address at 11:30 a.m. “Now, as we prepare to receive more vaccine heading into April, it’s time for all Minnesotans to get in line.” Continue reading.

2021 House Veterans & Military Affairs bill earns committee approval

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the House Labor, Industry, and Veterans Affairs Committee unanimously approved the 2021 House Veterans & Military Affairs Finance & Policy Bill. The legislation, authored by committee chair Rep. Rob Ecklund (DFL – International Falls), contains a variety of funding and policy initiatives to help Minnesota veterans, including significant investments to address veteran homelessness and prevent veteran suicides.

“This past year has been difficult for Minnesotans as a result of COVID-19, and throughout it all, our dedicated military veterans and service members continue to make sacrifices and face challenges,” Rep. Ecklund said. “I’m proud of the bipartisan, thoughtful work we’ve done in this committee to deliver solutions to help ensure those who’ve served can have the healthy and successful future they deserve.”

The legislation includes $6.33 million in few funding toward addressing veteran homelessness. The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) estimates there are approximately 150 Minnesota homeless veterans who aren’t eligible for housing services through the VA. The new funding will be used to provide housing vouchers and help the MDVA work with the Interagency Council on Homelessness to identify individuals on the Homeless Veteran Registry and provide them with necessary help.

The bill also invests $1.65 million to prevent suicides among veterans, the funding from which will go toward hiring new staff at the MDVA devoted to preventing veteran suicide, increasing outreach, training, and marketing efforts to raise awareness, and strengthen partnerships with local units of government, mental health care providers, state agencies, and other partners. MDVA would also perform an intensive review of records of veterans who have died by suicide to identify trends and warning signs.

Overall, the bill contains a $16.7 million increase in the MDVA’s budget, mainly to fund increases for the state’s five veterans homes. Other provisions in the bill include:

The Veterans Restorative Justice Act, which creates alternative sentencing options for veterans who commit certain crimes resulting from service-related trauma. The measure builds upon the Veterans Court model to help eligible veterans receive chemical dependency or mental health treatment as opposed to incarceration
Numerous changes to the state’s Code of Military Justice, which addresses court martial proceedings and criminal violations by members of the armed forces
Authorizes MDVA to share data with the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness and Homeless Veteran Registry partners to quickly help veterans experiencing homelessness
Several changes regarding the process for selecting the Adjutant General for the Minnesota National Guard
Creation of a task force to recognize the 20^th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks
Technical changes to the Minnesota GI Bill
Authorization of Adult Day Care and Dental Services at VA homes
Changing Veterans Suicide Awareness Day to Veterans Suicide Prevention and Awareness Day
A technical change to the Personal Needs Allowance calculation for residents of VA homes
Authorization for the MDVA to contract for public relations

The legislation now goes to the House Ways and Means Committee for further consideration.

Video of the hearing will be available on House Public Information Services’ YouTube channel. More information, including documents from the hearing, is available on thecommittee webpage.

Legislation to Expand and Improve Hate Crime Reporting Advances in the House

SAINT, PAUL, MINNESOTA – Legislation to expand and improve reporting of hate crimes has advanced out of the House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Division. The bill expands the categories crimes motivated by bias to include bias against a person due to the person’s gender, gender identity, or gender expression, and bias against a person who associates with someone in a protected group.

“This important measure will raise awareness of the urgent need to update our hate crime statutes in Minnesota,” said Rep. Hornstein (DFL-Minneapolis), the bill’s chief author. “It gives law enforcement and communities the tools they need to address this mounting concern. All Minnesotans deserve to feel safe. Our communities should expect no less.”

The legislation also directs the commissioner of human rights to collect supplemental data on crimes motivated by bias and appropriates money for grants to assist in collecting the data and to provide support services for victims of those crimes.

Rep. Samantha Vang (DFL-Brooklyn Center) is a co-author of the legislation.

“This bill will go a long way toward giving us the data and full understanding needed to track our rising hate crime problem so we can actively work to put an end to stop hate,” said Rep. Vang, chair of the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus. “We will still have to overcome language, culture, and trust barriers to get a true picture of what our communities of color and indigenous communities are facing, but this bill will be a fantastic help in our fight against hate.”

The bill awaits action in the Minnesota Senate.

Minnesota House passes Earned Sick & Safe Time legislation

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – On Thursday, the Minnesota House approved legislation authored by Rep. Liz Olson (DFL – Duluth) to extend Earned Sick and Safe Time benefits to all Minnesota workers. The legislation would ensure, at a minimum, one hour of paid Earned Sick and Safe Time for every 30 hours worked, up to at least 48 hours per year.

“No one should have to face economic hardship for choosing to stay home if they’re sick or take their child to the doctor, but right now that’s the unfortunate reality for too many workers,” Rep. Olson said. “As we work together to build a better future for Minnesotans following COVID-19, this is one of the most important steps we can take at this pivotal moment in time to strengthen economic security and make sure workers and families can be healthy.”

While Minnesotans have been asked repeatedly to stay home when they’re sick during the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 900,000 workers – especially those in low-wage positions and those in the service industry – don’t have access to sick days or any other paid time off. Under the bill, Earned Sick and Safe Time could be used for the following purposes:

Senate DFL Mid-Session Update

At the midpoint of the 2021 Legislative Session, the contrast between the priorities of the Senate DFL and Senate Republicans could not be starker. While Senate Republicans have proposed a hyper-partisan agenda, Senate DFLers are fighting for policies to help working families, provide a world-class education, ensure a clean future, and advance our democracy.

Since session has begun this year, Senate Republicans have held hearings on legislation that would restrict voter access, discriminate against a sector of our student athletes, reopen schools and businesses without safety plans or resources, and have pushed to rollback clean air and water protections. Republicans can’t even affirm that our elections are free and fair, which is a cornerstone to our democracy.

Instead of real solutions to address the pandemic while keeping Minnesotans safe, they waste precious time attacking the governor and not doing the legislative work necessary to help our state. They proposed reopening businesses and schools without adequate safety measures or funding in place to keep people safe. Even in the midst of a public health crisis, they ignore and mock the safety practices necessary to mitigate the risks of this pandemic, including at the Senate itself by not wearing masks and putting the health of their colleagues and staff at risk.

Walz tells Legislature he could go it alone on spending billions in stimulus money

Under a provision in state law, the governor will get to decide how to spend the state’s federal stimulus funds — unless the House and Senate can agree to spend some of the money in a budget emerging from the 2021 session, and provided Walz agrees to sign such a budget.

Gov. Tim Walz has told the state Legislature that he could decide on his own how to spend the billions of federal dollars heading to Minnesota from the American Rescue Plan.

In a Friday letter [PDF] to the state’s legislative leaders, Walz triggered a section of state law that requires him to give members of an advisory committee of lawmakers, the Legislative Advisory Commission, an opportunity to hold up expenditures of that money.

But because those holds expire when the regular session of the Legislature adjourns on May 17, the governor will get to decide how to spend the money — unless the House and Senate can agree to spend some of the funds in whatever budget compromise emerges from the 2021 session, and provided Walz agrees to sign such a budget. Continue reading.

Minnesota Supreme Court ruling regarding rape victims creates urgency for Legislature, says Rep. Moller

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – This morning, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled under the state’s criminal sexual conduct (CSC) statute, the definition of “mentally incapacitated” doesn’t include a person who became intoxicated after voluntarily consuming alcohol.

State Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL – Shoreview) is the chief author of legislation to comprehensively update Minnesota’s CSC statute, which includes recommendations of the CSC Statutory Reform Working Group, including one to close the intoxication loophole.

“Victims who are intoxicated to the degree that they are unable to give consent are entitled to justice. Our laws must clearly reflect that understanding, and today’s Supreme Court ruling highlights the urgency lawmakers have to close this and other loopholes throughout our CSC law,” Rep. Moller said. “Prosecutors, survivors, and advocates have identified the problem and the CSC Working Group did incredibly tough work to identify the solutions. Minnesotans who experience unthinkable trauma deserve to see the Legislature take action on this immediately.”

As the Supreme Court’s opinion notes: “nearly half of all women in the United States have been the victim of sexual violence in their lifetime—including an estimated 10 million women who have been raped while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.” Nevertheless, the court found that for purposes of a CSC conviction, “a person is mentally incapacitated only if under the influence of alcohol administered to the person without the person’s agreement.”

The opinion went on to note the Legislature’s “unique institutional capacity” to address the issue, specifically citing the CSC Working Group and Rep. Moller’s legislation as a remedy.

The House Public Safety Committee approved Rep. Moller’s legislation on February 18 and the House Judiciary and Civil Law Committee approved it on March 11.

The bipartisan bill has not received a committee hearing in the Senate.

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Mortensen broke the rules by controlling an unregistered political committee

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