Dear Neighbors,
I want to start off with a BIG thank you and congratulations to our community – Minnesota led the nation in responding to the 2020 Census with a total of 75.1% self-responding, and we managed to beat that in Eden Prairie with an 84.4% self-response rate!
In addition to ensuring that Minnesota kept all eight congressional districts, an accurate census also ensures our community gets the resources it deserves, so thank you again for taking the time to make sure you and your family were counted.
You can read more about Minnesota’s impressive and narrow census victory here.
Health and Human Services
We passed our final budget proposal, the Health and Human Services budget, off the House floor last Monday evening. This session, I served on the House Behavioral Health Policy Division and the Early Childhood Finance and Policy Committee, and I was proud to see much of our work reflected in this budget that impacts so many Minnesotans.
Our HHS budget expands support for prenatal care and maternal health, including extending health coverage for low-income mothers to 12 months following a birth. It would invest more in voluntary home visiting and in broader economic support for low-income families. The bill also includes funding for my proposal for a report on early childhood programming accessibility and usage for children in foster care. Using a combination of state and federal funds, the budget would invest more than $200 million in early learning and care for these families, as well as more than $300 million in monthly stabilization payments for this critical sector, with a focus on individual teachers and caregivers.
Passing Bills off the House Floor
Apart from our budget bills, which are constitutionally required to pass this session, we also passed a couple other bills off the House floor last week, including one of mine.
Thursday evening, we passed my bill to make the names of lottery winners’ private data, which applies to any lottery wins that include a cash payment greater than $10,000. When a Minnesotan is lucky enough to win big, it’s important that doing so doesn’t sacrifice their privacy or put their safety in jeopardy. With the increasing availability of personal information online, this bill strives to protect Minnesotans from the harm that can sometimes accompany these financial windfalls. This was my second bill this session to unanimously pass off the House floor, though I recognize it might be difficult to vote against my bill when I have my little legislative assistant with me. Babies are bipartisan – Haha!
Other bills we passed off the House floor include Senate File 1470, which would provide an off-ramp to the current eviction moratorium we’re experiencing during the pandemic state of emergency. The bill we passed would be able to make renters and landlords whole while ensuring we’re not swapping out the pandemic with another crisis of simultaneous evictions throughout the state.
The last bill I want to highlight for you is House File 729, which funded the efforts of our law enforcement agencies as they prepared for potential civil unrest last week. This was passed and quickly signed into law because it’s clear that though Minnesotans want accountability for police and reform in our public safety, we also know that properly funded policing is necessary for safe and secure communities. It’s not a choice of one or the other.
REAL ID
In a recent announcement from the federal government, the deadline to obtain a REAL ID has been extended by an additional 18 months to May 3, 2023. This will help relieve some of the pressure on our local Driver and Vehicle Services offices, which have been overwhelmed with requests to renew expired drivers licenses and vehicle registration tabs, and give Minnesotans more time to obtain this updated form of identification.
Beginning May 3, 2023, Minnesotans will need a REAL ID to board domestic flights or enter federal facilities. An enhanced driver’s license or ID card, passport or passport card are acceptable substitutes.
Stay Connected
The last two weeks of session will be spent negotiating with our Senate counterparts to put together the final budget bills that need to constitutionally be passed by May 17. If you have any questions about the bills we’re working on, please feel free to reach out to me. The best way to touch base is through email (rep.carlie.kotyza-witthuhn@house.mn) or phone (651/296-7449). I appreciate hearing from you.
Be well.
Sincerely,
Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn