Volume #6, Issue #2
January 15, 2021
Call of the Senate Postcast Video
A weekly message from your Senator
Dear Friends and Residents of Senate District 49,
We are rounding out week two of the regular 2021 legislative session. I proudly serve as Assistant Senate DFL Leader. This week, I joined other Assistant Senate DFL Leader Senator Nick Frentz and Senate DFL Leader Susan Kent for The Minnesota Senate DFL Call of the Senate podcast to kick off its third season. In this episode, we cover top priorities for the Minnesota Senate DFL’s 2021 Legislative Session.
This year, I serve on the Commerce and Consumer Protection Finance and Policy, Finance, and Human Services Reform Finance and Policy committees. As of now, we have only had informational hearings in these committees. It is already clear that a balanced budget will continue to be the main topic of conversation for this legislative session. I will continue to advocate for spending that helps us get through the pandemic, come out of the pandemic, and thrive heading into the future. In the Finance Committee, we will continue to look at the budget and spending in order to best help all Minnesotans. As of this time, all committee hearings are heard virtually, you can watch and follow along on the Senate website.
I hope you continue to stay safe and healthy this upcoming week. If you need anything please reach out to melisaf@senate.mn or jess.yeganeh@senate.mn, we look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Melisa
With threats of armed protest, please avoid the Capitol
Following the insurrection in the U.S. Capitol, reports have surfaced of the potential of white nationalist and far-right groups instigating violence at state capitols throughout the country — including at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, over the next few days through the inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden.
While the State Capitol Complex will be secure and under the protection of the Minnesota State Patrol and the Minnesota National Guard, I encourage Minnesotans to avoid the state capitol and counter protesting in the proximity of these potentially dangerous gatherings until the threat has passed.
The reports of planned demonstrations by white supremacists, militia members, and other extremists should concern each and every Minnesotan — and present a real and credible danger to the community and public. The first priority must be the safety of Minnesotans and each other. We are discouraging people and groups from planning any counter protests that may be targeted by these groups over the next week.
Legislature receives an update on vaccination planning and rollout
This week the Aging and Long-Term Care Policy and Health and Human Services Committees heard updates on Minnesota’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout. This week Minnesota has been steadily working through Phase 1a of vaccinations, which includes health care workers and long-term care residents and staff. Over 150,000 doses have been administered so far and thousands have already received their second dose. A new vaccine data dashboard gives an overview of how many vaccines have been distributed and administered throughout the state.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services made some game-changing vaccine announcements. After a request from Governor Walz and eight other governors, HHS announced they would be releasing millions of vaccine doses that were being withheld. They also indicated the next priority group should be individuals 65 and older, as well as those aged 18-64 with chronic underlying health conditions. This would be a significant addition to the priority phases the state was planning for, which included essential frontline workers and adults aged 75+ in the next group.
More vaccine supply would help this process move faster, but at this point, no additional doses have been made available to the state. We need the federal government to provide more detail about the supply of vaccine available for Minnesota and when it will arrive. The state is ready to take on more doses of vaccine, but until then, we’re still working with an extremely limited allocation of around 60,000 doses each week. Vaccine administration has been getting faster and more efficient, but it’s important to be deliberate and do this right so that vaccine is not wasted or mishandled. As more doses become available and providers can vaccinate more people each day, things will go faster.
We all know how important it is to move through COVID-19 vaccinations as quickly and as safely as possible so we can all return to a more normal life. As the Minnesota Department of Health and vaccine advisory partners sort through the shifting federal guidance and learn more from the new Biden administration, we will work closely with state health officials and partners at the local level to communicate where we are throughout this process and provide as much information as possible.
Minnesotans can check mn.gov/vaccine for the latest information.
Unemployment Insurance updates
Soon after the state passed an extension for unemployment insurance (UI), the federal government took action at the end of December and passed an 11-week Unemployment Insurance extension. The federal extension includes the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program and the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. Additionally, a $300 per week supplemental payment to anyone receiving unemployment benefits was also included.
While the federal government paid for the benefit extension, state governments are responsible for determining who qualifies and distributes the money. Those seeking unemployment can apply through the State of Minnesota.
In 2020, the UI program paid out $9,680,185,156 when accounting for regular and new federal benefits. This represents 23,010,049 actual payments. A recent DEED press release included the following, “Over the course of 2020, DEED received over a million new applications for unemployment insurance with payments going out to more than 814,000 individuals compared to 120,000 new applicants in 2019.”
Businesses get assistance from the Legislature
The Legislature approved and Governor Walz signed into law a bill that provided $216 million in relief to businesses in December 2020. The money was divided into three areas: business relief payments ($88 million), movie theater and conventions center grants ($14 million), and county relief grants ($114.8 million).
- Business relief payments ($88 million): The first distribution of business relief payments (3,893 checks totaling $67,320,000 million) should be arriving in the mail for qualifying businesses in mid-January. Qualifying businesses generally include restaurants, breweries, wineries, bars, gyms, and bowling centers that saw a 30% reduction in business as a result of COVID-19. Businesses did not need to take action to receive these payments, the Department of Revenue used information on file.
- Movie theaters ($14 million): Grants are available for application for convention centers with a seating capacity of over 1,500, and movie theaters. A per screen formula is used in determining the allocation for movie theaters while there are several criteria for convention centers.
- County relief grants ($114.8 million): The largest pot of money was given to counties to distribute to businesses and nonprofits in their communities impacted by the pandemic. Counties were given a lot of discretion in how the funds would be deployed in the communities encompassed within their borders. The money for counties was allocated based on $200,000 or a per capita population formula, whichever is greater. To see how/when funding will be allocated contact your county.
- Federal assistance: In December, the federal government passed a second package that provided additional assistance for businesses. Information on the availability of federal assistance can be found on the U.S. Small Business Administration’s website.