SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA. — House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler is meeting with violence prevention groups to discuss a new state grant program dedicated to innovation in community safety. The new state budget appropriates $800,000 for organizations that provide youth, young adult, and family anti-violence outreach programs; offer community healing and wellness; and help address mental health needs.
Members of the press are welcome to attend and should RSVP to matt.roznowski@house.mn to receive details about location of meetings.
What: Meeting to discuss new grant program for innovation in community safety When: Wednesday, July 28 at 5:30pm Who:
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Starting today, House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler is meeting with violence prevention groups to discuss a new state grant program dedicated to innovation in community safety. The new state budget appropriates $800,000 for organizations that provide youth, young adult, and family anti-violence outreach programs; offer community healing and wellness; and help address mental health needs.
Members of the press are welcome to attend and should RSVP to matt.roznowski@house.mn to receive details about location of meetings.
What: Meeting to discuss new grant program for innovation in community safety
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Rep. Rob Ecklund (DFL – International Falls), Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL – South St. Paul), House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL – Golden Valley), Rep. Sydney Jordan (DFL – Minneapolis), Rep. Patty Acomb (DFL – Minnetonka), Rep. Ami Wazlawik (DFL – White Bear Township), Rep. Kelly Morrison (DFL – Deephaven), Rep. Todd Lippert (DFL – Northfield), Rep. Ginny Klevorn (DFL – Plymouth), Rep. Jay Xiong (DFL – Saint Paul), Rep. Heather Keeler (DFL – Moorhead), Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn (DFL – Roseville), Rep. Samantha Vang (DFL – Brooklyn Center), Rep. Fue Lee (DFL – Minneapolis), Rep. Peter Fischer (DFL – Maplewood), Rep. Steve Sandell (DFL – Woodbury), Rep. Zack Stephenson (DFL – Coon Rapids), Rep. Liz Reyer (DFL – Eagan), Rep. Erin Koegel (DFL – Spring Lake Park), Rep. Jamie Long (DFL – Minneapolis), Rep. Michael Howard (DFL – Richfield), and Rep. Emma Greenman (DFL – Minneapolis) issued the following statement calling for the resignation of Minnesota Board of Animal Health (BAH) President Dean Compart:
“Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) poses a critical threat to Minnesota’s wild white-tail deer population, and the Board of Animal Health has the responsibility to hold cervid farms in our state accountable for their role in its spread. Unfortunately, by failing to act, the BAH and its leadership have continued to let down those who enjoy deer hunting. Worse, future generations potentially won’t be able to enjoy these cherished traditions if CWD is allowed to spread, and based on the frequency at which the disease is identified in new areas of the state, unless urgent action is taken, it almost certainly will.
“All Minnesotans deserve a healthy deer herd and comprehensive solutions to protect it. If the deer farms won’t be accountable to the BAH, and the BAH won’t be accountable to Minnesotans, it’s time for BAH President Dean Compart to do the honorable thing and resign.”
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Majority Leader Ryan Winkler released the following statements on Governor Walz’s timeline to end COVID-19 restrictions:
“Minnesotans have done a great job rolling up their sleeves and getting vaccinated, and that has gotten us close to the end of this pandemic,” said Speaker Hortman. “It’s my hope that Minnesotans continue getting vaccinated so that we can stay ahead of any variants, get our state fully opened, and get back to the things we have missed since COVID-19 started.”
“With new leadership in the White House and Minnesota’s robust public health infrastructure leading the nation in vaccine distribution, the end of this pandemic is near,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “From the start, Republican politicians told Americans COVID-19 was ‘just the flu’ and Donald Trump told us it would go away ‘like a miracle.’ Democrats are defeating COVID because we have taken a public health approach informed by scientists, not armchair epidemiologists.”
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA– Today, the Minnesota House approved an orderly off ramp of the eviction moratorium declared by Gov. Walz last year that will prevent a wave of evictions while ensuring landlords are made whole for rent that is owed to them. The bill provides a roadmap to transition off the current residential eviction moratorium by ensuring renters have enough time to access federal funding for rental assistance when the COVID-19 related peacetime emergency ends and provides clarity to the process.
“As more vaccines become available, the pandemic is easing, yet there are still many of our neighbors who are unemployed and face the risk of eviction.” said Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL-Saint Paul), chair of the Housing Finance and Policy Committee. “The eviction moratorium reduced the spread of COVID-19 and protected the most vulnerable Minnesotans from the threat of losing their home. We must continue to protect those Minnesotans once the eviction moratorium is lifted, and this bill provides a realistic timeline for both landlords and tenants to access the rental assistance that will keep people in their homes.”
“We hope the end of the pandemic is in sight, but we don’t want to replace a public health crisis with an eviction and housing crisis for Minnesotans,” said House Speaker Melissa Hortman. “Stable housing is the foundation for success for individuals and families. We must ensure a smooth, stable transition as we get to a post-COVID world and the end of the eviction moratorium.”
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota House passed its Health and Human Services Budget aimed at building a better health system for Minnesotans after the COVID-19 pandemic. The budget strengthens our public health systems, addresses health inequities, makes prescription drugs more affordable, and expands coverage for low-income Minnesotans. The bill also includes needed investments in affordable child care for Minnesota families.
“This legislation builds a better health care system for Minnesotans, especially our public health care system which our entire state has relied upon throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester), Chair of the House Health Finance & Policy Committee. “This budget expands important health care coverage in numerous areas and will strengthen health and wellbeing for children and families. The bill also reaches underserved populations and has solutions to reduce health inequities. These important investments will help more Minnesotans have a healthy future and better quality of life.”
During COVID-19, many Minnesotans found telehealth valuable, and the budget expands and enhances these emerging services. As more Minnesotans worry about the future of affordable health care – even those who have coverage through their employer – the budget will launch a study of a MinnesotaCare public option. Furthermore, as Republicans continue to attack the Affordable Care Act in court leaving the future of its critical protection’s uncertain, the budget codifies important ACA provisions – like those protecting people with preexisting conditions – into state law. The bill also eliminates the “family glitch,” a problem occurring when an individual is ineligible for MinnesotaCare because they have access to employer coverage through a family member, even though the coverage is unaffordable.
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Today the U.S. Census Bureau released new data to determine each state’s number of congressional seats and Electoral College votes for the next decade. Minnesota’s number of congressional seats remains unchanged at eight. Data released today is not used to determine new boundaries for new legislative districts.
“Minnesota has a long history of good government and strong civic engagement. Thanks to Minnesotans’ excellent response to the census, Minnesota has retained eight Congressional districts. This is an important achievement for all of us. Congressional district allocation from the Census Bureau is an early and important step in Minnesota’s redistricting process. Minnesotans deserve an open and transparent redistricting process that results in a fair map,” said Speaker Hortman. “House Redistricting Chair Mary Murphy is well-qualified to take on this important work. She has the trust of Minnesotans in both parties and has an unassailable reputation for fairness. Now we anxiously await additional population data from the Census Bureau that is essential for the House Redistricting Committee to draw new districts.”
“Minnesotans expect their Legislature to draw fair maps and involve the public in drawing those maps,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “The census data released today makes clear how important that work is, and we are committed to district maps that all Minnesotans can trust and have confidence in.”
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – House DFL lawmakers Wednesday introduced new legislationto increase opportunities for equitable COVID-19 vaccine access. In response to the vast disparities outlined in reporting from the Minnesota Department of Health, Representative Kelly Morrison (DFL-Deephaven), Representative Jay Xiong (DFL-St. Paul), Representative Hodan Hassan (DFL-Minneapolis), Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley), and 31 other House DFLers are leading efforts to close the gap and get more vaccine doses distributed to marginalized communities across the state.
“By doubling down on our efforts now to get shots into as many arms as possible, in every corner of the state, we can crush the virus and close the chapter on this public health crisis,” said Rep. Morrison, a practicing physician and Assistant Majority Leader in the Minnesota House. “The Minnesota Department of Health has been doing an incredible job handling the pandemic response, but we can and should do more for our communities who have been especially hit hard over the last year.”
The legislation would establish a Mobile Vaccine Program, in which mobile vaccination vehicles are deployed to disproportionately impacted communities around the state to provide COVID-19 vaccines to those residents. A mobile vaccination vehicle providing vaccines in a community with a large number of residents with limited English proficiency must also be staffed by interpreters for the needed languages.
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Today, Majority Leader Ryan Winkler and DFL lawmakers introduced adult-use cannabis legislation that will address criminal justice inequities created by our current system and allow law enforcement to focus on more serious issues.
The adult-use cannabis bill is based on conversations with Minnesotans during the statewide “Be Heard on Cannabis” tour, which hosted town hall meetings in 15 communities spanning urban, suburban, and rural parts of the state; met with more than 30 organizations and associations; consulted with the Governor, Lt. Governor, and 13 state agencies; held 250 meetings with individuals and groups; and inspired legislators to work hundreds of hours to produce the bill.
“The failed criminalization of cannabis has resulted in a legacy of racial injustice that can no longer go unaddressed,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, the bill’s chief author. “Adults deserve the freedom to decide whether to use cannabis, and our state government should play an important role in addressing legitimate concerns around youth access, public health, and road safety. Veterans and Minnesotans with serious illnesses like PTSD deserve better access to our medical program, which is not working well for most people. It’s time to legalize, expunge, and regulate.”
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — The state minimum wage will increase on January 1, 2021, marking eight straight years of pay raises for Minnesotans with little to no economic security. It’s the result of a 2014 law that adjusts wages annually to account for inflation. Majority Leader Ryan Winkler was the chief author of the 2014 reforms and says very little has changed around the politics of the issue.
“Democrats’ efforts to raise the wage helps working Minnesotans earn a decent living, but Republican politicians are holding us back by serving corporations, the rich, and well-connected,” said Majority Leader Winkler. “We know that our annual pay raises alone aren’t enough to help Minnesotans earn a living wage, and that’s why House Democrats are determined to provide affordable health care, child care, paid leave, and a secure retirement for all who work.”
