Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Welcome to Week 18 E News. As we enter into the conference committee mark ups of the House and the Senate bills we must remember why we do what we do and that is for and about the betterment of the State of Minnesota and the citizens we represent. As I spend time in the Health and Human Services Committee I am reminded once again, that our work in this committee must be first and foremost about the individuals we are charged to protect and enhance. This committee as well as the Education committee must put the needs of the individuals first and leave egos and personalization out of any and all arguments. Having said that, you have my commitment to keep that a focus on the work at hand. Today is Saturday and we are in the Health and Human Services conference committee detailing the differences between the House Bill and the Senate Bill. We are keeping focused on the matter at hand and not getting personalized. So far so good, please continue to let those of us in the committees to remember that. I am honored to be able to be on this committee and have found that the input from others is being affirmed, valued and appreciated. I was able to make comments regarding those provisions regarding disability services especially Waiver Re-Imagine and the menu of service delivery. The 17th of May will be the last day of the constitutional session and I am committed to working hard to make sure we are getting our work done and will do so in a bipartisan manner. Common sense and pragmatism should be the rule of these committees.
As always stay in touch and I’ll do my best to keep you updated.
John
COMMITTEE UPDATES
ENERGY
Senate passes several pieces of bipartisan Energy-related legislation
The Senate passed three bills related to Energy this week: the Natural Gas Innovation Act, the Energy Conservation and Optimization Act of 2021, and another smaller bill that would authorize a much-needed power purchase agreement between Xcel Energy and District Energy St. Paul.
The Natural Gas Innovation Act was seen last year, but ultimately did not become law; the goal of the bill is to establish a regulatory policy to support investor-owned natural gas utilities that choose to use renewable natural gas (RNG) and pursue other innovative technologies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy efficiency. The established framework would allow utilities to submit plans for approval from the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that would outline how the utility plans to use innovations to meet the state’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction and renewable energy goals, which we are not currently on track to meet.
Supporters of the bill point to the bill’s goal to decarbonize natural gas, which made up 19% of the state’s energy generation as of October 2020. They also argue the bill will help meet the state’s GHG emissions reduction goals, promote technological innovation, and support rural economic development by creating jobs and helping our agricultural community with some of their proposed plans to recapture biogases from food or animal waste.
Those speaking in opposition to the bill voiced concerns that the Legislature is using precious time and state resources to focus on RNG, which is expensive and likely can only displace 3-7% of current gas consumption. They argue that while decarbonizing natural gas is a good goal, we should be focusing our efforts on building out the state’s electric infrastructure and spending resources to create an across-the-board decarbonization plan that helps the state transition to 100% carbon-free energy.
The Energy Conservation and Optimization (ECO) Act of 2021 was also considered leftover work from 2020; it is the result of three years of discussions and negotiations about the future of programs designed to use less energy and save Minnesotans’ money. The bill seeks to gain cost-effective energy savings for utilities that operate within Minnesota, including both investor-owned and consumer-owned utilities. If enacted, this legislation would bring the largest update since 2007 to Minnesota’s nearly 40-year-old energy conservation improvement program.
The final bill authorizes a power purchase agreement to govern Xcel Energy’s purchase of electricity generated by District Energy St. Paul; the current agreement between Xcel Energy and St. Paul Cogeneration is set to expire in 2023. This joint effort between Xcel and District Energy would establish a unique pilot project for St. Paul’s downtown business district and the state capitol complex aimed to decarbonize heating and cooling in a targeted manner. If successful, it will also help address the waste from the state’s emerald ash borer infestation. All three bills passed with varying levels of bipartisan support. The ECO Act is headed to conference committee with the House, and the other two pieces of legislation will be sent to the House for their consideration. (SF 421) (HF 164) (SF 1047)
Conference Committee update
Conference committees for each of the omnibus budget bills have been appointed and began working this week. Those committees are comprised of five House members and five Senate members and are tasked with working out differences between each chamber’s version of a bill, which then will be sent to the Governor for consideration.
Updates on conference committees are posted at this link on the legislative website: https://www.leg.mn.gov/leg/cc/. From there, click on each bill to see a full listing of all meetings and meeting materials that have been distributed to this point. Below is a short summary of developments for each committee this week:
Health and Human Services (HF 2128): Meetings began Wednesday with a high level overview of the House and Senate budget items and section by section overview of articles from both bills. No action has been taken thus far.
Agriculture (SF 958): Met all week, adopted some identical language. Heard testimony and overview on a number of the various provisions funded in the bill. Work on adopting compromise language on differing provisions is expected to begin next week.
Commerce/Energy (SF 972): Met Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. Reviewed documents and heard energy-related testimony. No action.
Housing (HF 1077): The Conference Committee reviewed the House and Senate language as well as compared the spreadsheets. Additionally, public testimony was heard.
Jobs and Economic Development (SF 1098): The conference committee met several times this week and adopted some identical and similar language. Committee members also heard testimony and discussed several House only provisions (Paid Family Leave, Sick and Safe Time, Workers Emergency Leave, Emergency Rehire and Retention, Essential Workers Emergency Leave, Safe Workplaces for Meat and Poultry Processing Workers).
Judiciary (SF 970): Spent the first half of the week walking through the side by sides. House made first offer on some identical or similar language, as well as on two noncontroversial House-only provisions. House also made an offer on police reform legislation on Thursday afternoon. See “House moving forward on police reform” for more information.
State Government (HF 1952): Met each day to discuss the bills, took testimony from agencies, and adopted similar language related to the Campaign Finance Board and MN.IT Services.
Taxes (HF 991): Met each day to discuss details of the bills. Adopted the Public Finance Article, which is identical, noncontroversial language with no fiscal impact.
Transportation (HF 1648): Met each day to discuss details of the bills, took testimony from MnDOT, DPS, and the Met Council, and have adopted identical language and some similar language without fiscal implications.
Environment (SF 959): Met at the beginning of the week for a walkthrough and took testimony from the agencies. Met again on Thursday when the House had the gavel; Sen. Ingebrigtsen presented the Senate offer during the first 10 minutes of the hearing, and all Senate conferees left immediately thereafter. Senate Republicans maintain they will not pass a budget unless movement is taken against the PCA’s Clean Cars rulemaking. Nothing was adopted.
E-12 Education (HF1065): The E-12 Education conference committee met each day this week, but so far has accomplished much toward negotiating a final agreement. The two bills are far apart on funding with a $620.5 million gap between the two. This week, the conference committee went through the bills and spreadsheets and herd from early childhood and racial equity experts. The House presented an offer of same/similar language. No actions were taken yet on that proposal.
Higher Education (SF975): Higher education conference committee met once this week, taking testimony from stakeholders. Same/similar language provisions were adopted last week. Chair Tomassoni has stated he will wait to meet until the funding targets have been announced.
Thank You!
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. You must schedule with our office to arrange an appointment before any arrival, and we also do Zoom meetings! So reach out and tell me what matters to you or schedule an appointment so I can continue working on your behalf. You can reach me by email at sen.john.hoffman@senate.mn or by phone at 651-296-4154. I am at 95 University Avenue Suite 2235 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
The Governor announces timeline to ease COVID-19 restrictions
The Governor has announced a timeline to ease Minnesota’s COVID-19 restrictions due to the increasing number of Minnesotans becoming fully vaccinated. Currently, Minnesota has 2.5 million residents who have had at least one vaccination shot with more becoming fully vaccinated every day. With Minnesota showing that it is one of the states with residents who have the greatest willingness to get vaccinated, the Governor announced his three-step plan to bring Minnesota back into a greater sense of normalcy.
Starting May 7th at noon, there will be an easing of restrictions for indoor and outdoor venues, social gatherings, and restaurants. This will release the cap on capacity, any distancing limits, and mandatory closing time for outdoor venues, restaurants, and social gatherings. It will also increase the occupancy capacity for indoor venues, social gatherings, and restaurants. This will be the first step until May 28th when all capacity limits indoor and outdoor will be lifted, with certain requirements still in place like mask requirements indoors and business safety plans in place for consumer protections.
The final stage will be the lifting of the mask mandate within Minnesota by July 1st or whenever 70% of the 16+ population are vaccinated. While local jurisdictions, restaurants, or businesses may still require a mask this will open Minnesota further as more residents become fully vaccinated. With the state’s current numbers, Governor Walz announced that Minnesota is only 437,000 people away from reaching that goal and encouraged Minnesotans to sign up for their appointment and to make sure their family and friends who have not received their shot make an appointment today.
Redistricting Principles
Minnesota received positive news from the 2020 Census that our state will retain all eight congressional seats. Additional Census data will be forthcoming to provide information to the legislature to begin the process of redistricting or the drawing of new legislative maps to reflect geographic changes in population. Each state senate district in Minnesota currently comprises approximately 79,000 constituents and will need to be adjusted to rebalance all 67 districts.
The State Government Finance Committee recently heard legislation to establish redistricting principles to guide the redrawing of congressional and legislative maps. A Senate DFL proposal provides a statement of purpose that says legislative districts should be created using a fair and open process that limits the ability of legislators to draw districts that favor themselves or their party and should be as free from political bias as possible.
The Senate DFL prioritizes the principle that districts must not be drawn with the purpose or effect of dispersing or concentrating Black people, Indigenous people, People of Color, or members of a language minority group and must comply with the 14th and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution and Voting Rights Act of 1965. We also support principles that preserve communities of interest which may include an ethnic or language group or any group with shared experiences or concerns. (SF 2308)
Celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week
Monday, May 3rd to Friday, May 7th marks Teacher Appreciation Week in the United States. This week celebrates the hard work of teachers in delivering education at all levels across the country and recognizes the sacrifices educators make for the sake of their students. The transition to the virtual classroom due to the COVID-19 pandemic has brought new burdens and incredible challenges on the nation’s teachers. The Senate DFL honors their commitment to students and continues to focus on delivering the support that Minnesota’s teachers need and deserve.
Today in Minnesota, many public schools remain underfunded. This has left many teachers on their own to maintain their classrooms and support their students. The Senate DFL is committed to fully funding education to support Minnesota’s public schools, and to allow teachers to pay their time and energy to their students, rather than generating resources and supplies for their classrooms.
Additionally, the Senate DFL recognizes the racial imbalances of Minnesota classrooms. While 38% of the state’s students are People of Color, only 7% of teachers are. Increasing teachers of color and indigenous teachers diversifies our schools and allows students to connect with educators who represent them.
National Nurses’ Week starts on May 6 and goes until May 12, ending on Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Nightingale is seen as the founder of modern nursing, as she used her medical knowledge to manage and train nurses during the Crimean War. The DFL proudly honors all nurses during Nurses’ Week and beyond. We can all honor and thank nurses by getting vaccinated and staying healthy as well as advocating for the Essential Workers Emergency Leave Act.
The Essential Workers Emergency Leave Act (EWELA) ensures that frontline and essential workers during this pandemic can quarantine, care for a loved one with COVID-19, or care for a child who is distance learning or whose childcare provider is closed due to COVID-19, without financial burden. You can read more about it here.
If you, or someone you know, wants to share a story about your favorite nurse, you can participate in the My Favorite Nurse campaign here.
Information and Resources
State Government
Governor
651.201.3400 | http://mn.gov/governor
Attorney General
651.296.3353 | www.ag.state.mn.us
Representative Melissa Hortman (36B)
651.296.4280
Representative Zack Stephenson (36A)
651.296.5513
Driver’s Licenses
651.297.3298 | drivers-license-information.aspx
MN Energy Assistance Program
800.657.3710| https://mn.gov/commerce/eap.jsp
Election Information
651.215.1440 | https://www.sos.state.mn.us/
Emerald Ash Borer Prevention and Detection
(MN Dept. of Agriculture)
pestmanagement/eab/eabbiocontrol
651.201.6684
Local Government
City of Champlin | 763.421.8100
City of Brooklyn Park | 763.424.8000
City of Coon Rapids |763.755.2880
Anoka County |763.421.4760
Federal Government
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar
612.727.5220 | https://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/
U.S. Senator Tina Smith
202.224-5641 | https://www.smith.senate.gov/HomePage
U.S. Congressman Dean Phillips (3rd CD)
202.225.2871 | https://phillips.house.gov/