Week 16, Friday April 26th
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Our omnibus bills are going through the final stretch of the process. As they are being passed from the floor they will go into conference committee, before returning to the floor for approval. I’d like to share some of my work that has made it this far in the process:
One of my bills to make it this far is the Parent to Parent grant. The bill appropriates $257,000 in funding for grants to support parent-to-parent programs for families of children with disabilities, chronic illnesses, and health-related educational or behavioral problems. Parents who participate in the program would be connected with other parents who have a child with similar needs or circumstances, information from special training, or simply emotional support. Personal support from another parent who has a child with similar needs can be helpful in coping with these challenging experiences and feelings.
Another provision is my $70,000 appropriation for a new supplemental rate for Hope4Youth in Anoka County and their 12-bed transitional housing facility. Hope4Youth provides resources linking youth to several housing options including family reunification, emergency shelters, transitional housing, supportive housing, and affordable rental housing. I support their mission to end homelessness and help all youth feel safe, valued and supported and this begins with meeting their basic needs for shelter.
I also have a provision that provides $250,000 for adaptive fitness grants. This will allow people with a wide range of abilities access to athletic equipment that are usually not covered by insurance. My main goal is to provide opportunities for improved quality of life for people with disabilities by providing access to sports equipment to enrich their exercise and health experiences.
My care coordination provision also made it through the process this far. This provision ensures that children with complex medical needs do not leave a hospital without proper communication between those involved in the child’s regular and after care. Across the nation we have seen such policies reduce redundancies and risks while creating better health outcomes for children with complex medical needs.
These are among all of the important legislation moving this session. Keep sharing with me what your thoughts are on our legislation, and I’ll work hard to carry the will of our district.
Sincerely,
John
Agriculture
Senate Agriculture and Housing Finance Bill passes
The Senate agriculture and housing finance bill passed this week on a 43-24 vote. The Senate bill contains important investments in rural mental health supports for farmers and other agricultural related workers. Additionally, the Senate proposal appropriated $30 million for Border-to-Border Broadband grants. Unfortunately, the bill cuts important proven housing programs and shifts money to other housing priorities. When this occurs, it is indicative that the bill that does not contain enough funding for important investments. This is unfortunate given the critical need for affordable housing and farmer assistance across the state.
Environment
Senate passes the Environment and Natural Resources Finance Bill
Senators opposing the bill argued that it does little to help address issues of increasing concern, such as climate change, aquatic invasive species, Chronic Wasting Disease, pollinator declines, and degradation of water quality, and in fact, the bill may make these issues more challenging. The changes in the bill related to the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, they argued, ignore the hard work of the Legislative-Commission on Minnesota Resources in its thorough review and evaluation process to determine projects worthy of funding. The changes also add projects that are likely to provoke a constitutional challenge. In sum, the bill in its current form will produce severe consequences for the state’s environment and natural resources work.
The bill does provide two-year funding for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Metropolitan Council Regional Parks, Minnesota Conservation Corps, Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), Science Museum, and Minnesota Board of Tourism. Also included in the bill are numerous policy items unrelated to the state’s budget.
Higher Education
Senate passes Higher Education Finance Bill
The Senate bill provides more funding for the state grant program and includes additional funding for the workforce development scholarship program. However, it doesn’t pay for the tuition freeze it imposes, which will result in program cuts and staff elimination on many campuses. This impacts student academic success and has the potential to close small colleges across the state.
Judiciary
Judiciary and Public Safety Bill passes
The bill only has a $25 million target, which meant there is almost no new funding to be found to provide for safety or additional security personnel in Minnesota’s prisons, despite the increased violence the state is seeing in its corrections system. While the Senate Republicans provided funding for increased health care costs for employees, they only funded those increases through the biennium, and they did not provide for any additional funding for increased compensation for the state’s judges and staff.
State Government
State Government omnibus heard on Senate floor
The state government omnibus bill spends a total of $1.08 billion in 2020-2021. This is a $15 million reduction over the base and $90 million under the governor’s recommendation for $1.17 billion. Many state agencies receive between a 5 and 18% cut to their operating budgets, including the Attorney General, the State Auditor, the Department of Administration, MMB, the Department of Revenue, and the Historical Society.
Contact Information
It is my greatest honor to represent you the citizens of Brooklyn Park, Champlin and Coon Rapids here at our great state capitol. In addition to representing you, I absolutely enjoy it when you come visit.So come on down, reach out and tell me what matters to you so I can continue working on your behalf. You can reach me by email at sen.john.hoffman@senate.mn, phone by 651-296-4154 or just stop by. I am at 95 University Avenue Suite 2231 in the Minnesota Senate Building
Sincerely,
Senator John Hoffman
If you have any questions or concerns feel free to call my office at 651-296-4154 or by e-mail at jhoffman@senate.mn