Dear Neighbors,
We are approaching the end of the first 2020 special session. I am hard at work alongside my colleagues to ensure that we pass critical legislation. While the Senate Republicans may wish to adjourn today, we in the House are committed to staying as long as it takes to pass the legislation our state needs.
House Passes CARES Act Funding for Our Local Governments
Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed a bill to provide $841 million in federal CARES Act funding to Minnesota’s cities, counties, and towns, and make new investments in the people of Minnesota. It is now moving to the Senate to be approved. Cities would receive $350 million in aid, counties would receive $467 million, and towns would receive $24 million. The bill also includes critically needed investments in Minnesota and Minnesotans. These include the following:
- $21 million for increased compensation for personal care assistants (PCAs)
- One-time assistance for low-income families in the Minnesota Family Investment Program
- More than $38 million for continuity of service in Direct Care & Treatment programs.
- Funding in for child care assistance necessary to bring MN into federal compliance
- $18.5 million for overtime staffing for correctional officers
- Nearly $9 million to reimburse counties for federal funding that was rejected regarding care provided by counties at institutions for mental illness.
- Nearly $29 million to help the Leech Lake and White Earth bands repay overpayments they received from the federal government under Medical Assistance (MA)
- $6 million for the Minnesota Zoo
- $3.1 million to BCA to test and manage sexual assault examination kits, eliminate backlog
- $4.1 million for suicide prevention and housing assistance for veterans
Minnesota Police Accountability Act of 2020
The House debated several police reform bills for several hours last night until early this morning. The House DFL recognizes that we need systemic change if we are to ever have a public safety system that makes all Minneostans safer. Our Republican colleagues refused to join us in calling for these changes and are unwilling to listen to our perspective. So while these bills have passed the House and are on their way to the Senate, it is doubtful that they will listen to our calls for justice. We have laid the groundwork and can envision the Minnesota that we need, but this may be a problem that will have to wait until November to be solved. Here is the full list of reforms we passed today:
Reclaiming Community Oversight
Putting power into the hands of the people and neighborhoods that police officers are sworn to serve and protect.
- Retroactive Repeal of Statutes of Limitations (Vang)
- Warrior Training Prohibited (Richardson)
- Choke Hold Ban (Moran)
- Duty to Intercede (Becker-Finn)
- Police Residency Reform (Hassan)
- Data Collection and Regulatory Reform/etc. (Mariani)
- Arbitration Reform (Her)
- Law Enforcement Oversight Council Reform (Gomez)
Reforming Accountability
Restoring confidence and trust in the systems that are meant to provide justice for all Minnesotans.
- Use of Force Reform (Moran)
- Prosecutorial Reform (Becker-Finn)
- Investigatory Reform (Mariani)
- Cash Bail Reform (Noor)
Re-Imagining Public Safety
Ending the unacceptable culture that is responsible for the murder of George Floyd and far too many others who look like him.
- Public Safety Peer Counseling Debriefing (Noor)
- Police Officer Critical Incident Review (Kunesh-Podein)
- Community Led Public Safety (Gomez)
- Mental Health Training (Richardson)
- Autism Training (Richardson)
- Restore the Vote (Moran)
House DFL PROMISE ACT
We reconvened session today to, among other things, pass the PROMISE Act to provide immediate assistance in rebuilding in an equitable and community-led manner. We need to take action now and support our communities before it is too late. You can watch our press conference on this legislation here, and our debate on the issue when it is uploaded, here. The legislation would:
- Create a special panel to review cases and provide direct compensation to impacted individuals.
- Partner with cities and community organizations to create economic relief programs for impacted businesses and organizations.
- Give local units of government flexibility and tools to prevent gentrification.
- Direct the Minnesota Department of Commerce to assist business owners, and require insurance companies to notify the department of any rejected claims.
- Help with the rising cost of leases for eligible residential and commercial properties.
- Eliminate the sales tax on the purchase of construction materials used to rebuild damaged or destroyed properties.
- Provide property and sales tax cuts for eligible properties.
- Establish a “Metropolitan Area Redevelopment Corporation” to create a long-term plan for equity-driven redevelopment and transformation.
Stay in Touch
Please reach out to my office if you need assistance with anything. I am best reached through email at rep.samantha.vang@house.mn or please contact my legislative assistant Chris, christopher.storey@house.mn. I always appreciate hearing from you. You can also follow along on my official Facebook page here.
Sincerely,
Rep. Samantha Vang
651-296-3709
rep.samantha.vang@house.mn