SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Today, Monday June 28, the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus (POCI) introduced a number of amendments to the Public Safety and Judiciary budget bill. This is in response to the absence of several necessary accountability measures in the current bill language. The POCI Caucus is also calling on Governor Walz to use his executive authority to enact several reforms. The POCI Caucus released the following statement.
“Minneapolis, Minnesota is the recent epicenter of a racial justice reckoning happening across the United States. After the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Derek Chauvin, people from all backgrounds took to the streets demanding change. Unfortunately the changes sought by so many, that would help diminish the killing of BIPOC people at the hands of the police, did not emerge.
“During the regular session and through the special session, the POCI Caucus and members of the House DFL Public Safety Committee worked tirelessly to move meaningful police accountability policies in negotiations with the Senate Republican Majority who refused to hold bad actors accountable. The bill as posted does not include the significant changes to hold police accountable or to prevent future harm.
Comments on the removal of the Refinery Safety Amendment in the Finance Committee after receiving 50 “yea” votes on the Senate floor.
A weekly message from your Senator
Dear Constituents and Friends,
We are amid a Special Session at the Capitol to settle budget negotiations. With the looming government shutdown, I continue to work with my colleagues to reach agreements. The Senate Finance Committee has had the most action out of all committees during Special Session. Each bill must pass through the committee to assess funding and review spending before heading to the floor. We have met almost every day since the beginning of the Special Session on June 16th, where we tackle budget bills. I will go into detail about some of the budget bills below and the status of the bills. To stop the government from shutting down, we need to pass our budget bills by July 1st. Each day that we wait to finish budget bills, the state of Minnesota spends more money preparing for the potential shutdown. Government employees have received their layoff notices, and nobody wants to see that. I have heard stories about people not being able to refinance their home or purchase a home because they have a layoff notice. The Minnesota Senate has efficiently passed bills through our chamber while the House minority continues to stall the process in the House. It is unacceptable, Minnesotans expect us to get our work done efficiently, and we are still here waiting.
Saint Paul, Minnesota — Today, May 25, is the first anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. The Minnesota People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus released the following statement:
“We must ask ourselves: What has truly changed since last year? The fact remains that another name continues to replace George Floyd. Black men are still dying at the hands of law enforcement. Trust between our communities of color and police remains at record lows. BIPOC communities still do not feel that police keep them safe. Republican colleagues continue to devalue our lived experience and the experience of our communities as they use our calls for change as bargaining chips to secure tax cuts for the wealthy.
“Yet, we know we can never return to a world before the murder of George Floyd, our mindset on how our communities are affected by police and what role they play in our safety has permanently shifted. Whether this is a true sea change that will impact our entire nation remains to be seen. While the murderer was held accountable, and we managed to pass a modicum of police accountability legislation last year, we are meeting increased resistance from the status quo against our calls for more significant reforms.
The Senate District 49 Town Hall in coordination with the League of Women Voters of Edina, has been rescheduled. It will now occur on Monday, June 28, at 7:00 PM. The Town Hall will occur on Zoom, and we will make sure it is live-streamed and posted on each legislator’s Facebook page for those unable to join us.
On Monday, we adjourned the 2021 legislative session. The 2022 legislative session will not start until January 31st, 2022. As I have mentioned before, 2021 is a budget year, so we start in early January. Next year is not a budget year, so we start the legislative session at the end of January 2022. Just because finished the regular legislative session, does not mean that we finished the work for this year, there will be a special session in June, and then we will move on from there.
Before adjournment on Monday, Governor Walz, Senate Majority Leader Gazelka, and Speaker of the House Hortman announced budget targets. These budget targets will shape each conference committee budget. To ensure a timely conclusion, working group members (previously known as conference committee conferees) and commissioners must complete their finance spreadsheets by 5:00 pm on Friday, May 28th, 2021. Then language will have to be agreed upon by June 4th. As we learn more about the federal fund allocations, we will agree on budget bills and get them passed.
Yesterday, the CDC released updated mask guidance. If you are fully vaccinated, you no longer need to wear a mask in most settings. If you are not vaccinated, the CDC recommends that you wear a mask indoors. Later that day, Governor Walz announced the end of the statewide mask mandate. As of today, Friday, May 14, the mask mandate has been lifted for the state.
Over two million of Minnesotans are fully vaccinated right now, including many who are the most at risk of serious illness. Millions more are well on their way to full immunity. As of now, individuals ages 12 and up can receive the vaccine. For more information on how and where to get the COVID-19 vaccine please visit VaccineConnector.mn.gov.
As we round out the final full week of the legislative session before we adjourn for sine die, it is clear that we are far from the end. Not all conference committees have been meeting. Some conference committees have not adopted the same and similar provisions because they insist on waiting until we have budget targets and with the recent guidance on how states can spend federal funds for the American Rescue Plan, we are at an impasse. Conference committees could still be meeting to adopt policy provisions, these have nothing to do with budget targets, but some committee chairs are reluctant. We should be finishing this legislative session on time, and yet we are waiting for an agreement on how to end the Governor’s emergency powers instead of focusing on passing a state budget for the next biennium. We are waiting for the majority party to show up to conference committees and complete the work we were sent to do.
I am beyond disappointed, Minnesotans deserve an on-time budget and policy provisions that help our communities during these difficult times. We are also waiting for additional federal guidance on the State Fiscal Recovery Funds (SFRF) provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). These funds will help Minnesota recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and we will have until 2024 to use the funds. The majority party also wants to change how these federal funds will be used, without an agreement, we do not fully know how the entire budget will be funded. I will continue to keep you updated on what is going on at the Capitol until the final hours. We will be meeting throughout the weekend to continue to work on a compromise.
Sincerely,
Melisa
Senate District 49 Town Hall
Senate District 49 legislators will be hosting a Zoom Town Hall on Monday, May 24 at 7:00 PM. While the event will occur on Zoom, we will make sure it is live-streamed and posted on each legislator’s Facebook pages for those unable to join us.
Pre-submitted questions will be given priority and you will receive a link to the Zoom meeting a day before the event through the email you enter during registration.
Senate District 49 Mask Mandates
Bloomington: as of now, Bloomington has not announced any guidance
Eden Prairie: announced there will be no city-wide mask mandate
Edina: announced there will be no city-wide mask mandate
Minnetonka: announced there will be no-city wide mask mandate
Celebrating Senator Newton’s first time on the Senate floor this session with Senator Hoffman and Senator Abeler
Conference Committee Updates:
Agriculture (SF 958):
Met on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday to adopt some agreed upon policy provisions:
Pesticide applicator licensing
Cottage food laws
Waiting on target before starting budget work in earnest
Commerce/Energy (SF 972):
Met briefly on Monday to adopt some noncontroversial provisions
No meetings for the remainder of the week.
Housing (HF 1077):
Met on Monday and adopted some/similar provisions
No meetings for the rest of the week.
Jobs and Economic Development (SF 1098):
Met on Monday and adopted some provisions related to:
fire sprinklers in public high rise apartment
wedding barns
certified building officials continuing education
donations to State Services for the Blind.
The conference committee did not meet for the remainder of the week.
Judiciary (SF 970):
Met on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday with the House, making additional offers each time the House had the gavel.
Senate majority has yet to respond to any of the House offers.
The Senate Chair did not meet on Wednesday, saying the Senate needed time to consider the provisions in the House offer and that he would prefer to see a global offer.
The Senate Chair did not meet on Friday, mentioning that they are still waiting for a budget target.
State Government (HF 1952):
On Monday, the committee unanimously adopted the same and similar language related to elections policy that was vetted by the Secretary of State, mostly derived from the OSS technical bill.
Tuesday, the committee heard testimony on the Veterans Restorative Justice Act (VRJA) language.
On Wednesday, the committee heard testimony from state agencies, unions, and other stakeholders on a proposal in both the senate and house language to implement a reverse auction for a pharmacy benefit manager through SEGIP. No agreement was reached.
On Friday, the committee adopted Veterans Restorative Justice Act compromise language by a unanimous voice vote.
This language contains the House provisions supported by advocates.
It takes clarifying language from the Senate bill that is non-controversial. MDVA testified on their concerns that their new duties under the bill will require additional funding.
Plan to meet Saturday to discuss Senate proposal to transfer historical duties from the Historical Society to SHPO.
Taxes (HF 991):
Met each day to discuss details of the bills. The U.S. Treasury released final guidance on how states are allowed to spend federal funds passed through the American Rescue Plan.
On Friday MMB Commissioner Schowalter spoke more about the interim final rule on federal funds via this slide deck.
Revenue Commissioner Doty spoke about this filing season. He said the DOR will be putting out guidance by Monday telling taxpayers to file their returns with the expectation they may need to file an amended return once the legislature passes a bill.
Meeting at 1 p.m. Saturday (Senate gavel) to receive full accounting of all federal dollars received since last year.
Transportation (HF 1684):
Met on Monday to adopt various non-controversial House and Senate only provisions that had all been previously agreed upon.
On Friday the committee heared a MnDOT presentation on project selection, trunk highway spending, and contracting issues.
Environment Legacy (HF 1709):
Has not met since May 5.
Health and Human Services (HF 2128):
Met each day to discuss the differences between both bills.
Same and similar policy language has slowly been adopted over the week.
Changes to office of medical cannabis to allow raw cannabis, HCMC direct payment arrangement, removing interest charging for child support judgement.
Conferees passed the committee report on a unanimous vote. All items included were agreed upon by House and Senate, no appropriations are carried in this report.
Environment (SF 959):
Met several times, though the Senate conferees left early on during the meetings when the House held the gavel – if they attended at all.
Clean Cars rulemaking continues to be a sticking point, and the Senate refuses to negotiate anything with a fiscal impact, including pieces that do not impact general fund spending.
The House has now made four offers
The Senate has made two – both of which were entirely contingent upon the House accepting the Senate’s position on Clean Cars.
E-12 Education (HF1065):
Met each day but made very little progress.
Non-exclusionary discipline procedures remain a sticking point, with the Senate Republicans refusing to accept the K-3 non-dismissal requirement.
The House presenting their offer on Friday.
Sen. Chamberlain refused the offer and to even discuss most of it.
He said that the House hadn’t responded to the Senate offer of 5/13/21 and “expanded” that offer dramatically.
He then said that he did not plan to meet on Saturday.
Higher Education (SF975):
Met only twice this week; adopted a $6,500 cap for the child care grants.
Discussion on Thursday about federal COVID-19 funding and guidance for institutional use.
Edina COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic
On Friday I visited the vaccination clinic at South View Middle School in Edina. I am thankful for everyone that has been helping Minnesotans get vaccinated.
Visitor at the Capitol!
On Wednesday, my son Philip came to the office with me. I showed him around the Capitol and he watched the floor session. Here’s a comparison of my time with Philip on Wednesday at the Capitol compared to in 2016 at the Capitol.
There are 18 days left in the legislative session. There is so much more work left to do before sine die on May 18th. On Monday, I urged my colleagues again to hear police accountability legislation. We saw accountability served in the courts with the trial of Derek Chauvin, but we need the same accountability to happen in the legislature. Legislation passed in June, after the death of George Floyd was the beginning of police accountability legislation. Yet, not a single bill on police accountability has been heard in the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee this year. Now, my colleagues say there is not enough time to hold hearings on police accountability legislation because we are too close to the end of the legislative session. If not now, when is the right time? View my comments in the video at the top of the newsletter.
On Monday, the security presence at the Capitol heightened, awaiting the closing arguments on the trial of Derek Chauvin. On Monday and Tuesday, side streets around the Capitol were closed off, and National Guard members were standing beyond the fence and in the Capitol. I was at the Capitol when I learned that we were getting the verdict for Derek Chauvin’s trial. When I watched the trial verdict come in an hour later, I was relieved. We received justice for George Floyd, his family, and Black communities across America. But George should be alive right now, and we should not have had to mourn the loss of another Black man. I will continue to demand public safety reform in Minnesota. The fight is not over, we need to pass meaningful legislation this session. We do not need a “fact-finding” hearing, we need meaningful legislation to stop this from happening again.
Dear Constituents and Friends,We are all mourning the loss of Daunte Wright, another Black man murdered in Minnesota. The rest of the world was already looking at Minnesota, with there are national news services in Minnesota covering the trial of Derek Chauvin. George Floyd, Dolal Idd, and Daunte Wright — three Black men killed in the hands of law enforcement in Minnesota in less than a year.
On Wednesday, I visited Brooklyn Center along with other Minnesota Senate POCI Caucus members. We listened to community leaders and demanded legislative action to protect the lives of Black Minnesotans.
If Black lives matter, then we must pass substantive legislation to protect Black lives. Here are the policy recommendations my fellow Senate POCI members and I believe must be addressed before we go back to normal Senate business or budget negotiations.
Allow local governments to establish civilian oversight councils.
Ban the alteration, erasure, or destruction of body-worn camera recordings and withholding footage.
End qualified immunity.
Prohibit peace officers from affiliating with white supremacist groups.
Provide funding for community organizations working to prevent crime.
We still have time before we sine die for this legislative session on May 17th. There is a month to address and pass substantive legislation to protect Black lives in Minnesota.
I hope you take time to take care of yourself and support those who mourn and grieve the loss of Daunte Wright – a father, son, and member of the community.
Sincerely,
Melisa
Vaccine Update:
This week, the CDC and FDA recommended temporarily pausing further administration of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine out of an abundance of extreme caution. Six people out of the almost 7 million who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine experienced a rare and severe type of blood clot after getting the shot. Currently, none of the Minnesota vaccination sites are using J&J this week, and Minnesota and the CDC/FDA recommend a temporary pause on the J&J vaccine at this time.
All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and FDA are further reviewing these cases.
While these incidents have been extremely rare, if you have received the J&J vaccine and develop a severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination you should contact their health care provider.
Minnesota continues to be a nationwide leader in vaccine rollout. As of April 14th, over 50% of individuals 16+ have received their first vaccine (almost 2.2 million). Over 1.5 million Minnesotans have received their full vaccination series
Before all bills with a fiscal impact go to the floor they have to pass through the Finance Committee. As omnibus bills pass out of their committee of primary jurisdiction they will eventually be vetted by the Finance Committee, making it a busy time for the committee. This week, we went from Finance Committee, to Session, and back to Finance Committee. The days are getting longer – with morning meetings starting at 7:45 am and finishing committee at 11:20 pm, you know we are a month away from sine die.
Omnibus bills:
This week on the floor we started to hear the Senate omnibus bills. The following bills passed on the floor and will go to conference committee next. The Senate and the House will take their proposed omnibus bills and negotiate for aspects of each bills. That means that bills will change during negotiations. Certain provisions in the Senate omnibus bill might look different in the House, but in the end we will find something that works. Here are some main takeaways from the Senate omnibus bills:
Higher Education:
Included:
The higher education omnibus budget bill passed on the Senate floor on Wednesday
$45 million in new funds for higher education and increases student grant amounts
Require colleges and universities to honor student transcript requests even if they carried unpaid fees and fines
Hunger Free Campus Grants to help with basic needs such as food shortages, housing and transportation
Increased grants to the College is Possible Program
Basic needs resource hub provision to help a changing student demographic meet the challenges of juggling college and daily life
Missing:
Addressing budget shortfalls for the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State systems.
Commerce, Consumer Protection & Energy:
Included:
Reinsurance – $150 million in taxpayer dollars to health insurance companies with a request – not a requirement – that they do not increase health insurance premiums too much
Missing:
Prevention in catalytic converter thefts by imposing penalties and providing enforcement tools that currently do not exist
A permanent statute protecting consumers from price-gouging during emergencies – 36 other states have this in law currently.
Extending the state’s cold weather rule, which protects low-income Minnesotans from having their utilities shut off during winter months if they are unable to pay their utility bills
Protecting access to landline service for seniors and rural Minnesotans
Meaningful steps towards decarbonization and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the state.
Agriculture:
Included:
Expanding border-to-border broadband
Missing:
New or increased funding to support Minnesota’s farmers
Jobs and Workforce Development:
Included:
Small business relief loan guarantee program
Allows a person to qualify for reemployment assistance if they are enrolled in coursework offered by an adult basic education consortium member
Unemployment insurance for secondary students
Unemployment insurance
Missing:
Paid Family and Medical Leave for all Minnesotans
Judiciary and Public Safety
Included:
Voluntary intoxication defense for certain mentally incapacitated cases clarification
Removing the statute of limitations on reporting criminal sexual conduct
Human trafficking penalty increases
Missing:
Provision to prohibit police officers from associating with white supremacist groups
Strengthening hate crime laws to better protect Asian Americans
Police reform and accountability legislation
Gun safety legislation such as universal background checks
Constituent Meetings:
This week I was able to meet with constituents from Mom’s Demand Action, Edina teachers and educators through Education Minnesota lobby day, and howling wolves lobby day.
On Tuesday, I met with Mom’s Demand Action to discuss the future of gun safety legislation in the Minnesota Senate. Here are some the future Mom’s Demand Action community forums:
During Howling Wolves lobby I learned more about SF 1144 – a bill that would prevent wolf trophy hunting. I recently visited the International Wolf Center in Ely where I learned more about efforts to protect wolf populations. I am proud to add my name as a co-author to SF 1144.
