Minnesota House 7 , CD3 DFL

Increase Teachers of Color Act Gains Momentum in the Legislature

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – A bipartisan group of legislators led by Reps. Hodan Hassan (D-Minneapolis), Heather Keeler (D-Moorhead), and Sen. Jim Abeler (R-Anoka) joined advocates to discuss progress made on the 2021 Increase Teachers of Color Act. The act is comprised of a package of comprehensive legislation that seeks to address the severe shortage of BIPOC teachers that remains stagnant at 5%, while the percentage of BIPOC students (currently ~34%) increases annually. The act includes HF 217/SF 446 and HF 1041/SF 797.

“It is so important to invest in our next generation and have a teaching staff that reflects our community and our students in the classrooms,” said Rep. Keeler. “Representation matters and as the lead author of the higher education bill for the Increase Teachers of Color Act, I have the opportunity to be the strong voice to stand up for the injustice so many of us have experienced and help our students navigate their future endeavors.”

“We owe it to our students to give them the best education possible, and the most important factor in a quality education is our educators,” said Rep. Hassan. “It has been shown repeatedly that all of our students benefit when they have teachers of color and American Indian teachers, but this is especially true for our students of color and indigenous students. This act will ensure that our school education system has adequate resources to hire and retain teachers of color and American Indian teachers, while also creating a space for culturally relevant learning to take place. I’m glad that this important legislation is moving forward with bipartisan support.”

House Early Childhood Finance and Policy Committee advances paid family and medical leave

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the House Early Childhood Finance and Policy Committee advanced legislation that expands access to paid family and medical leave. The bill, authored by Rep. Ruth Richardson (DFL – Mendota Heights), gives Minnesota workers time to bond with a new baby, care for a family member, or recover from illness.

“The first weeks after birth are a critical time in the life of a child and a family,” said Rep. Dave Pinto (DFL – St. Paul), the chair of the committee. “Paid family and medical leave gives workers time to be with their loved ones during the most joyful and challenging moments of their lives. House DFLers are committed to providing greater economic security for working families and ensuring that our youngest Minnesotans get the great start in life that they deserve.”

The legislation provides workers with up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave per year. Minnesotans could apply for leave to bond with a new child, take care of a family member, or get medical attention for themselves. While on leave, workers would receive a percentage of their regular wages.

Minnesota Lawmakers Announce Bipartisan Student Borrowers Bill of Rights Legislation

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, a pair of bipartisan legislators announced efforts to provide important new protections for Minnesotans struggling with student debt. The Student Borrowers Bill of Rights legislation, authored by Rep. Zack Stephenson (DFL-Coon Rapids) and Sen. Zach Duckworth (R-Lakeville), would require licensure of student loan servicers, and establishes a variety of financial guardrails student loan servicers must follow to enhance consumer protections for student loan borrowers.

“Minnesota law is stunningly inadequate at protecting student borrowers from even the most basic bad behavior by the private companies that service their debt,” said Rep. Stephenson. “Our state’s students deserve transparency and less red tape, and our bill is designed to help ensure they aren’t misled or maltreated by student loan servicers.”

“Protecting young people from predatory lending and ensuring they have accurate information about their financing options is critical to their financial wellbeing and ability to fund their education,” said Senator Duckworth. “Folks shouldn’t be taken advantage of and their best interest should be at the forefront of any advice or guidance they receive related to student loans. Accepting a loan is serious and so is the commitment to repay it – equally serious is the commitment to ensuring the terms and servicing of that loan are fair and conducted in good faith.”

According to the Federal Reserve, the total amount of student loan debt has surpassed credit card debt to become the second largest class of debt in the U.S., with students owing a stunning $1.7 trillion dollars nationally. Sarah Rother, a media specialist and social studies teacher at a Chaska middle school, shared personal testimony regarding the ongoing financial challenges her student loan debt continues to present for her family.

“I don’t want my daughter to associate financial stress and worry with a college degree,” said Ms. Rother. “Children should see education as a gateway to their future, not as shackles of insurmountable debt.”

Destiny Belmont, a school psychologist with the Benton-Stearns School District, also shared her experience with her student loan servicer changing her required payments multiple times over the course of ten years.

“Loan servicers are taking advantage of Minnesotans, many who like myself are going into education, health care and other public services,” said Ms. Belmont. “It’s time to regulate student loan servicers and represent the interest of borrowers, not corporations.”

The Student Borrowers Bill of Rights legislation will be introduced during today’s House floor session. The measure has been scheduled for a hearing tomorrow, February 23, in theHouse Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee at 3:00 p.m. The hearing will be livestreamed on House Public Information’s HTV1.

Minnesotans, Organizations, Legislators Launch 2021 Driver’s Licenses for All Legislation

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA. — On Feb. 18, Minnesotans and state lawmakers kicked off the 2021 initiative to provide driver’s licenses for all regardless of immigration status. Video of the press conference featuring Minnesotans’ personal stories is available here.

“By denying the right to a driver’s license we’re denying people living in our communities access to jobs and opportunity, endangering public safety, and criminalizing families’ efforts to participate in civic life,” added state Representative Aisha Gomez (DFL – Minneapolis). “This denial hurts families, businesses, and all of Minnesota. We have worked on this issue for years and shown repeatedly how this would benefit our state, let’s finally make roads safer, and reject a politics that would divide people living side by side as neighbors.”

All Minnesotans used to be able to get a driver’s license regardless of immigration status, until the rule was changed in 2003, making it impossible for undocumented immigrants to obtain a legal driver’s license.

“I have lots of family and friends in MN who don’t have a license and are constantly at risk of being torn apart from their families by ICE. This is a form of torture and punishment. A license should NOT be treated as a privilege that some politicians use to divide certain communities,” said Carlos Urrutia, an ISAIAH faith leader. “We should make sure undocumented immigrants have a driver’s license under a belief that we are created and loved by God and we are deserving of being connected to our families no matter who we are or what our immigration status is.”

The driver’s license proposal is supported by a statewide coalition of non-profit organizations, unions, immigrants’ rights advocates, community-based groups and collectives, faith-based organizations, workers’ rights advocates, and businesses. In 2019, the Minnesota House made history by passing the same legislation for the first time.

“All Minnesotans should be able to work, live and take care of their families, but COVID-19 is making it even harder for workers and families to just get by,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, the bill’s chief author. “Providing a driver’s license to everyone who can pass a test and buy insurance will improve public safety for everyone, help the state economy, and treat our immigrant communities with dignity and respect. Immigrants come here for the promise of freedom and opportunity, and they contribute to the culture, economy, and community of our state. They are bold, brave, and hard working; and they are among the people who have sacrificed and risked the most to keep all of us healthy and safe during the pandemic.”

Public hearings about House File 1163 are in the process of being scheduled and will be announced soon.

House committees hold hearings on electric vehicles and transportation

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the House Climate and Energy Finance and Policy Committee and the House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee both held hearings on electric vehicles and transportation.

“In Minnesota, transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Rep. Jamie Long, Chair of the Climate and Energy Finance and Policy Committee. “In order to combat climate change, we need to find clean and convenient ways for Minnesotans to travel in their communities and throughout the state. Investing in electric vehicles and other bold solutions will help protect our air and our planet for generations to come.”

“Today we heard bold and visionary strategies to electrify the transportation sector,” said Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL – Minneapolis), Chair of the Transportation Finance and Policy Committee. “Electric vehicles are a key part of addressing the climate crisis and creating jobs in the clean energy economy.”

House Public Safety Committee discusses Rep. Moller bill to update state criminal sexual conduct code

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Thursday, the House Public Safety & Criminal Justice Reform Committee approved legislation authored by Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL – Shoreview) to comprehensively update Minnesota’s criminal sexual conduct (CSC) statute. In 2019, Rep. Moller successfully championed legislation to create a working group to fully examine the current law, which is full of contradictions, loopholes, and other shortcomings which all create barriers for survivors to receive justice. That working group has completed its final report, and Rep. Moller’s bill reflects those recommendations.

“This bipartisan bill is a major step toward the systemic change survivors are counting on to deliver justice, hold offenders accountable, and come closer to our shared goal of ending sexual violence,” Rep. Moller said. “Thank you to the working group members for taking on this challenge, and most importantly, to the brave survivors who have continued to tell their stories, highlighting how the criminal justice system has failed them. They share their stories in public knowing it won’t likely change the outcome regarding their own case, but don’t want the same thing to happen to someone else.”

The bill makes a wide variety of changes including:

Legislation establishing a new Department of Early Childhood advances

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Thursday, the House Early Childhood Finance and Policy Committee advanced legislation to establish a Department of Early Childhood. Under the bill, authored by Rep. Dave Pinto (DFL – St. Paul), early childhood programs that are currently administered by multiple state agencies would be transferred to a single, dedicated, cabinet-level agency.

“The earliest years of a child’s life set the foundation for everything that follows,” said Rep. Pinto, the chair of the committee. “But Minnesota’s programs focused on young children and their families are located deep within multiple separate agencies. This fragmented approach hinders coordination, accountability, and – most importantly – support for families.”

The bill creates a new state agency called the Department of Early Childhood to administer all of the state’s early childhood programs, including home visiting, child care and early learning, and many more. These programs are currently housed in the Departments of Education, Health, and Human Services.

Rep. Moller presents ‘Sheyla’s Law’ to strengthen justice for Guard members who experience sexual assault

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Tuesday, the House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance & Policy Committee held a public hearing on Sheyla’s Law, legislation authored by Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL – Shoreview) to strengthen justice for members of the Minnesota National Guard who experience sexual assault at the hands of another Guard member. The bill transfers investigations of sexual assault where the victim and the accused are both members of the Guard to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

The bill is named for Specialist Sheyla Scholl, a constituent of Rep. Moller who attempted to report a sexual assault that occurred at the hands of another Guard member on the night of her Advanced Individual Training graduation in 2016. She was initially discouraged from reporting the incident by local law enforcement, but followed through with the report over a year later when encouraged to do so by another survivor of the same perpetrator. The investigation lasted two and a half years, taking a significant toll on herself and her family.

“After talking to Sheyla and other survivors, it’s clear the inconsistencies of investigations at the local level creates challenges for survivors themselves and for the investigation by the military that follows,” Rep. Moller said. “This bill helps improve justice by both streamlining the investigation process while addressing the unique issues involving rank and position of authority within the military. I’m incredibly grateful for the bravery from Sheyla and the other survivors to push for the necessary changes this bipartisan legislation makes.”

UBLC lawmakers announce 2021 Legislative Agenda

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – On Wednesday, the United Black Legislative Caucus announced its 2021 Legislative Agenda aimed at eliminating racial inequities and helping Black Minnesotans bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic. The priorities are aimed at addressing disparities regarding economic opportunity, housing, education, health and human services, public safety, transportation, and environmental justice.

“The challenges facing Black Minnesotans are numerous, persistent, and urgent, and have been greatly compounded by COVID-19’s impacts on their health and economic security,” said Rep. Rena Moran (DFL – Saint Paul), UBLC co-chair. “Black Minnesotans deserve bold progress to eliminate disparities rather than incremental changes, and this agenda represents actions lawmakers can take this year to ensure everyone can share in our state’s success.”

“Even before the pandemic, Minnesota had some of the worst racial disparities in the nation,” said Rep. Ruth Richardson (DFL- Mendota Heights), co-chair of the UBLC. “The agenda we are bringing forward today is an important step forward in closing critical gaps for Black Minnesotans to ensure we all have an opportunity to succeed and thrive. There are significant annual economic costs to the state by failing to address these disparities and it continues to lead to a less prosperous Minnesota for all.”

The agenda includes many important actions lawmakers can take to strengthen the future for Black Minnesotans such as:

·Removes barriers to economic security, including high unemployment rates, a significant wage gap, barriers to starting a business, and systemic roadblocks towards building generational wealth.
Tackles the systemic racism Black Minnesotans have faced in homeownership through redlining, displacement, and barriers to capital, in addition to facing discrimination as renters.
Invests in students to help them achieve, including measures to address Minnesota’s opportunity gap – the worst in the nation – and COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on Black learners.
Addresses key health disparities, including poor maternal and child health outcomes.
Ensures investments in transportation infrastructure consider the needs of Black communities toward our entire region’s success.
Focuses on reforming Minnesota’s legal system to address disproportionately harmful impacts on the Black community.
Delivers economic justice by recognizing Black neighborhoods are disproportionately subject to air and water pollution and live and work in areas more vulnerable to certain climate-related disasters.

At the start of the current legislative session, membership of the UBLC grew from six to 10, with eight House members and two senators, highlighting an increasing diversity among lawmakers better reflective of their constituencies. The UBLC’s legislative priorities build upon the work of the House Select Committee on Racial Justice – which Rep. Moran and Rep. Richardson co-chaired in 2020 – which issued a series of recommendations to address systemic racism.

More information about the UBLC’s priorities can be accessed on this fact sheet. Video of the caucus’s press conference will be available on House Public Information Services’ YouTube channel.

House Transportation Committee Examines Climate Impacts on Transportation

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota House Transportation Finance Committee examined climate impacts on transportation in Minnesota. According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state.

“It was important for our committee to hear the science-driven data from various climate experts regarding the intersection of climate and transportation,” said Chair Frank Hornstein (DFL-Minneapolis). “We must be intentional about the action we can take now to combat the effects of climate change for future generations.”

Climate experts and advocates in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors shared presentations to the committee, including: Frank Kohlasch, Climate Director of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; Chris Clark, President, Xcel Energy Inc., Co-Chair – MnDOT Sustainable Transportation Advisory Council; Bree Halvorson, with BlueGreen Alliance; and Paul Douglas, Senior Meteorologist and founder of Praedictix.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: