Minnesota Legislature 3 , CD3 DFL

Minn. House Approves Compromise Higher Education Budget

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Late yesterday evening, the Minnesota House of Representatives advanced the compromise higher education budget bill on a vote of 71-57. House DFLers negotiated with the Republican-led Senate with a goal of using limited resources to protect students from rising costs, while also keeping Minnesota institutions vibrant and competitive, and shrinking racial and economic opportunity gaps in higher education.

“All Minnesota families deserve the opportunity to access a world-class education, no matter where they live or what they look like,” said House Higher Education Chair Connie Bernardy (DFL-New Brighton). “Our bipartisan compromise with the Senate prioritizes students by helping them overcome pandemic-related challenges now and into the future. We are committed to ensuring students are prepared to move forward in the post-pandemic workforce. House DFLers advocated for strategic investments in Minnesotans, so we can all thrive and emerge stronger post-COVID-19.”

The bipartisan higher education budget funds the Office of Higher Education (OHE), the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MinnState), the University of Minnesota campuses, and the Mayo Clinic Medical School. Significantly, it makes investments into the State Grant program that will impact more than 75,000 students and expand access to nearly 3,000 grant applicants. Additionally, within the budget agreement is a new “fostering independence” grant program to fund up to five years of college for students raised in foster care.

Minnesota House approves Legacy Amendment Investments

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Yesterday, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed compromise legislation to protect and enhance the outdoors, clean water, arts and cultural heritage, and parks and trails. The bill invests $645.6 million generated by Minnesota’s Legacy Amendment in these four priorities. The investments will benefit people and communities across Minnesota for years to come.

“Minnesotans care deeply about our state,” said Rep. Leon Lillie (DFL – North St. Paul), chair of the Legacy Finance Committee. “We are proud of our great outdoors, clean water, arts and culture, and parks and trails, and we want to preserve and enhance them for current and future generations. Investing in these priorities will make our state an even better place to live.”

In 2008, Minnesotans voted to adopt the Legacy Amendment, which increased the state sales tax by three-eighths of one percent. The revenue this constitutional amendment generates is divided between four funds. 66 percent of the revenue is split evenly between the Outdoor Heritage Fund and the Clean Water Fund, 19.75 percent goes to the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, and the Parks and Trails Fund receives 14.25 percent. All of these funds are appropriated every two years except the Outdoor Heritage Fund, which is appropriated annually.

Minnesota House approves compromise Agriculture and Broadband budget

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the Agriculture and Broadband budget bill following a bipartisan compromise reached with the Senate. The legislation, which funds the operations of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), the Board of Animal Health, the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI), and the Office of Broadband Development, includes new strategies and investments to strengthen farming and food production in Minnesota.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly challenging for farmers and food producers, and I’m proud of this budget agreement which not only supports key resources to help them bounce back, but invests in the next generation of farming in our state,” said Rep. Mike Sundin (DFL – Esko), chair of the House Agriculture Committee. “The budget invests in opportunities to develop new markets, supports efforts to continue addressing climate change, soil health, and water quality, and helps ensure we have a growing diversity of farmers equipped to contribute to our communities. This budget is the result of a collaborative effort that recognizes all Minnesotans depend on fresh food to live healthy lives, and healthy, sustainable agriculture and food production industries are critical to our success.”

The legislation includes several key priorities House DFLers included in the original House Agriculture Budget including increased funding for emerging farmer outreach at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), the Urban and Youth Agriculture program, the Farm-to-School initiative, the Good Food Access program, the Ag Best Management Practices program (AgBMP), and new investments in small-scale meat processing. To help struggling farmers, the agreement increases investments in the Farm Advocate program, with $150,000 specifically targeted toward farm transitions. To better compensate advanced and renewable biochemical and biofuel producers, the budget increases bioincentive payments by $1.5 million per year.

“Minnesota farmers and our agricultural communities must be successful for Minnesota to be successful,” said House Speaker Melissa Hortman. “Agriculture is a major economic driver in our state. Our final budget invests in farmers and their families to ensure our agriculture and food production industries emerge stronger after the pandemic.”

Among other items, the budget also funds:

Second Harvest Heartland grants for milk and protein purchases
The state’s noxious weed and invasive plant program
International trade efforts
Farm safety grants
Mental health outreach
Livestock production grants
Restoration of AURI’s Meat Scientist position
Replacement of aging lab equipment at MDA
An increase in the Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation (AGRI) budget at MDA
Meat and poultry inspections
Reimbursement for wolf depredation and elk damage

“Republican politicians are fighting for powerful corporations making record profits instead of the family farmers who have sustained Minnesotans for generations,” said Majority Leader Winkler. “We can create new opportunities for Minnesotans of all backgrounds to thrive in our ag economy if we change the status quo.”

In reaching a compromise, Senate Republicans refused to agree to continue funding Market Bucks, a program that helps low-income Minnesotans purchase fresh food at farmers markets. The final budget also didn’t include new requirements for seeds treated with neonicotinoid pesticides, the Climate Smart Farms program, and a new fee on gross pesticide sales, which were all provisions the House originally included in its budget. Additionally, while the budget funds operations for the Office of Broadband Development, funding for the Border-to-Border Broadband Grant Program will be considered separately in a capital investment funding package.

A spreadsheet of the investments contained within the legislation is available here. The bill will next travel to the Senate for that body’s consideration. Video of the House Floor session will be available on House Public Information Services’ YouTube channel.

Statement from Speaker Hortman and Majority Leader Winkler on bipartisan budget agreement

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Majority Leader Ryan Winkler released the following statement on today’s bipartisan budget agreement:

“I am pleased we have reached an agreement on the framework for a bipartisan budget that prioritizes students, families, workers, and small businesses,” said Speaker Hortman. “After a year of unprecedented challenges, we have the resources to help the Minnesotans who have sacrificed the most while investing in a Minnesota that works better for everyone. This budget makes significant investments in E-12 education to help our students recover from a difficult year and works to close our opportunity gaps. House DFLers also remain committed to including meaningful criminal justice reforms in our final budget. While this agreement does not contain everything we would have liked and the need for ongoing investment in the future remains, we worked together and achieved a compromise that is in the best interests of Minnesotans.”

“Families and workers are finding it more difficult to get ahead. Thanks to President Biden and Democrats in Congress, there are significant resources to help Minnesotans who are struggling the most, but it doesn’t change the fact that Minnesotans’ needs are not being met by current levels of investment,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “For too long, Minnesota put the rich and well-connected first. Thanks to the House DFL Majority and Governor Walz, Minnesota is now moving in a direction that provides a world-class education, affordable child care, and financial security for all — no matter where you live or what you look like.”

‘The Legislature has proved … they’re not capable of getting the job done’: How redistricting is likely to happen in Minnesota

A Q&A with Peter Wattson, a redistricting expert and lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the state, about the state’s history of redistricting — and what he expects to happen between now and next February, when state law requires Minnesota to have a new political map.

Last week’s release of state-by-state population numbers by the U.S. Census was the official, if belated, kickoff of redistricting season. While Minnesota was able to hold onto all eight of its current seats in Congress, the state won’t be able to begin rebalancing the populations of those districts — or state legislative districts — until late summer, when more detailed data is released.

These delays will make it more difficult for the state Legislature to redraw its political maps by a February 2022 deadline, even if the court, and not the Legislature, has long been the decider in Minnesota. A lawsuit filed in February began the state down that path, arguing that current lines are unconstitutional because of their unequal populations and asking the court to begin the process of drawing new ones.

Peter Wattson is the lead plaintiff in that suit. No stranger to redistricting law and politics, Wattson was a state Senate staff member assigned to the redistricting process and served as counsel in 2011 to then-Gov. Mark Dayton during his redistricting battles. Now retired, Wattson remains involved in redistricting law. MinnPost talked to Wattson about the current lawsuit, the state’s history of redistricting and what he expects to happen between now and next February, when state law requires Minnesota to have a new political map. Continue reading.

Changes to state sexual assault laws advance in the Legislature

Legislation to address a Minnesota Supreme Court case limiting prosecutions for sexual assault has advanced.

The court ruling had found that a state law on mental incapacitation relating to criminal sexual conduct does not apply to individuals who are voluntarily inebriated.

The bill would change the definition of mentally incapacitated “to remove a roadblock to prosecuting cases where the victim was intoxicated,” according to supporters. Continue reading.

UBLC statement on killing of Daunte Wright

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – The United Black Legislative Caucus issued the following statement after the death of Daunte Wright at the hands of a Brooklyn Center Police Officer on Sunday:

“Our community has been forced to withstand unthinkable trauma over the past year, and we’re angry that another young Black man has been taken from us by law enforcement. This is unacceptable and the constant cycle of police officers killing Black Minnesotans must end. The outcome Daunte Wright faced is an outcome we – as Black parents, grandparents, siblings and other family members – constantly worry about for our loved ones and ourselves. This shouldn’t be the norm, it can’t be the norm, and as lawmakers, it’s all of our responsibility to do whatever we can to ensure it no longer is the norm.

“We need accountability and we need it now. The Minnesota House is advancing much-needed solutions to identify bad officers and keep them off the streets, strengthen community oversight, and ban white supremacists from serving as officers. Daunte Wright should still be with us. His family deserves justice, and our community deserves changes to our laws that will ensure officers can be held accountable and trust can be built within our communities and those charged to protect and serve.

Senate DFL Week in Review: April 9, 2021

2021 Budget Bills
and everything happening in the Legislature this week.

Budget bills begin to take shape

The first year of the biennium is the year that the Legislature creates a budget to fund state agencies, programs. It is this funding that pays for the essential services that Minnesotans have depended on as we weather the COVID-19 pandemic: the health department that is responsible for testing, vaccinating, and managing the pandemic; the educators who are trying to keep our kids afloat during a crisis; the department administering unemployment and job-retraining for laid off workers. Read more >>

DFL Senators lead in advocacy for legislation to reform Minnesota’s criminal sexual conduct statutes

In March of this year the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in the case State v. Khalil that under current Minnesota law, an individual charged with sexual assault of a person that is mentally incapacitated due to consumption of drugs or alcohol may not be found guilty if the victim is voluntarily intoxicated, due to a poorly written definition found in state statute. Senate DFL members joined House DFL and Republican members for a bipartisan press conference this week to bring attention to legislative solutions proposed in the bill. Read more >>

Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislators and Advocates Call for Strengthened Sexual Assault Laws

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, a bipartisan group of lawmakers from the House and Senate urged swift adoption of legislation to comprehensively update Minnesota’s criminal sexual conduct code to address contradictions, loopholes, and other shortcomings which create barriers for survivors to receive justice. The push follows a recent Minnesota Supreme Court ruling that when prosecuting a sexual assault case, “mentally incapacitated” doesn’t include a person who became intoxicated after voluntarily consuming alcohol.

“Minnesotans are rightfully demanding action, as a result of the decision, to ensure those who experience the unthinkable trauma of a sexual assault while voluntarily intoxicated have a pathway to receive justice,” said Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL – Shoreview), the bill’s chief author in the House. “While the recent Supreme Court decision highlighted the voluntary intoxication loophole, there are other problems with our current laws that don’t adequately protect victims of sexual assault, particularly children and those subject to sexual extortion. I’m grateful for the bipartisan support for the solutions before us to ensure accountability for those responsible for these reprehensible actions.”

Last year, a legislatively created working group thoroughly examined the current criminal sexual conduct law and offered a comprehensive series of recommendations which are included in Rep. Moller and Sen. Senjem’s legislation. The bill makes a variety of changes to the state’s sexual assault laws including:

Anti-Asian hate crimes heighten calls for new legislation in Minnesota, Congress

DFL-backed bills seek better hate-crime reporting, police training.

A troubling rise in anti-Asian incidents reported to Minnesota community groups started a month before COVID-19 appeared in the state last year.

As the pandemic worsened, so did reports to groups like the St. Paul-based Coalition of Asian American Leaders. In one call to the group, a couple said an angry fellow grocery shopper blamed them for the coronavirus and shoved the husband in the parking lot.

“This time it was shoving. What if next time someone wants to run them over with their car?” said Bo Thao-Urabe, the group’s executive director. Continue reading.

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