Tag: Steve Elkins

Dear Neighbors,

I hope you and your family had a safe and relaxing July 4th! The mild weather we’ve had has been perfect for getting out into our community and exploring all our state has to offer.

Session ends

On July 1st the Minnesota House of Representatives finished approving a new two-year state budget and adjourned for the year. The Minnesota House, controlled by Democrats, and the Minnesota Senate, controlled by Republicans, convened for a special session on June 14th to finalize a bipartisan budget agreement and avoid a state government shutdown on July 1st. 

As the only divided legislature in the nation we had an almost monumental task ahead of us this session. I am pleased that we managed to find a compromise which balances the budget, provides tax relief for the small businesses and workers who were hit hardest by the pandemic; and still invests significantly in education, healthcare, public safety and infrastructure. Our community has a ways to go before it returns completely to normal, but I am confident that we are well on our way with this final budget agreement. I look forward to seeing you all in the interim.

Continue reading “Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: July 9, 2021”

Dear Neighbors,

Our regular session came to an end last month, however, our work for the year is far from over as we approach a special session set for next week. House and Senate leaders and Governor Walz have reached a budget agreement that we are using as guidelines in our conference committee negotiations. We have reached agreements on our Energy/Commerce, Taxes, Higher Ed, Agriculture, and Legacy Finance budgets. Some of the more contentious bills like E-12 Education and Public Safety still have a ways to go however. Details on the overall budget agreement and what the special session will look like can be found here.

Eviction Off-Ramp

It is critical that we prevent a massive housing crisis as we begin to return to normal. The House DFL proposed a common sense plan to give everyone the time they need to catch up on their rent and mortgage. Watch our press conference to learn more about our plan. It was announced today that we have reached a final agreement. Under the agreement, Governor Walz’s executive order on an eviction moratorium will be replaced by a stepped-down off-ramp that will conclude 105 days after enactment. Landlords will be required to send a notice to renters with outstanding rent 15 days prior to eviction. In addition, renters with an outstanding rental assistance claim cannot be evicted and will have that protection until June 1, 2022.  If you are behind on housing payments, apply for aid here.

Continue reading “Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: June 14, 2021”

Dear Neighbors,

About two weeks ago, the Star Tribune published an editorial entitled “Good government needed at capital”. It was a thought-provoking piece and I’ve been reflecting on it ever since. It’s worth going back and reading if you missed it. John Kaul, a longtime observer of the legislative process observed that “it used to be that almost every bill went through multiple hearings that looked into everything,” he said. “Every detail. Every group heard from.” “Policy deadlines were real, he said, so that bills could finish in time for conference committees to take the several weeks needed to negotiate differences in House and Senate bills.” Separately, House Speaker Melissa Hortman observed that, perhaps, the world has grown too complicated for the legislature to accomplish its work within the bounds of a constitutionally defined session which was established in a much simpler agrarian era when it was important that the legislature adjourned in time for farmers to attend to their fields over the summer. In the previous session, the legislature set two records. The first was for the most number of bills introduced in a session (over 6000). The second was for the least number of bills passed into law during a session in the modern era. The Covid 19 epidemic, which truncated the 2020 session, had a lot to do with that. Even so, there is no way that even a fraction of those bills was ever going to be put through the multi-stop committee process described by John Kaul.

Continue reading “Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: May 28, 2021”

Dear Neighbors,

I was stunned by the senseless killing of Daunte Wright this week. Brooklyn Center is a suburban city with a progressive Black mayor and, like Bloomington, a founding member of the Joint Community Police Partnership (JCPP). The mission of the JCCP is to enhance communication and understanding between law enforcement and the multicultural residents of the member cities to improve the safety and livability of our communities. The scenario that unfolded leading to Wright’s death is exactly the kind of tragedy that the JCCP program is designed to prevent. 

We would all like to think that this couldn’t happen in our own communities, but it is happening in communities just like ours. I’m having trouble reconciling the fact that, on the one hand, I’ve never in 25 years of public service fielded a constituent complaint about a specific case of racial profiling by a member of the Bloomington Police Department; while on the other hand, I don’t have a single Black male friend or colleague who does not tell of having been subjected to a “pretextual stop” for “driving while Black”. Wright was allegedly stopped for having expired registration tabs. Because of pandemic-related appointment backlogs at Driver & Vehicle Services, there are now over 600,000 Minnesotans driving with expired tabs and very few of them are being pulled over. 

Continue reading “Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: April 16, 2021”

Dear Neighbors, 

Due to the pandemic, drivers whose licenses had expired were given until March 31st to renew their expired drivers licenses. Many people waited until the last minute only to be met by long lines and scarce appointment availability at local deputy Driver & Vehicle Services (DVS) offices. Since the Legislature is away for spring break, this week, there will be no immediate legislative extension of this grace period. If you find yourself in this predicament, the best advice that I can give you, right now, is that you should book a reservation at a local DVS office as soon as you can (the wait might be measured in weeks) and carry a printed copy of the reservation confirmation with you in the car in case you are stopped. There is no guarantee that this will prevent you from receiving a ticket for driving without a valid license, but it’s worth a try.  

I would be remiss if I did not also remind you that the new deadline to apply for a “RealID” driver’s license, which will be required for air travel, is now October 1st. The state Department of Driver & Vehicle Services is working on improvements to the application process which will enable you to scan and upload/email/fax your qualifying documents to them, in advance, for verification before you leave for your in-person appointment. This should alleviate the problem of people bringing the wrong set of documents to the office and being turned away. Personally, speaking as someone who has been through the process, the federal instructions are really confusing. Minnesota has simplified its part of the guidelines as much as it can through legislation that I initiated, last session. In addition to regular DVS license bureaus, there is a dedicated RealID application processing office at MSP and this will be the best option for many of us.  

Continue reading “Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: March 31, 2021”

Dear Neighbors,

Tax Filing Extension

The Minnesota Department of Revenue has announced a grace period for taxpayers filing their annual Minnesota Individual Income Tax return for tax year 2020. Those taxpayers now have until May 17, 2021, to file and make their payments without any penalty or interest. This grace period does not include individual estimated tax payments. I’ll have more to say about the State’s tax/fiscal status in another update in the near future. 

Vaccine Update

Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan have announced the expansion of vaccine eligibility for people 16 years of age and older starting tomorrow, March 30th. The announcement is in response to the increased supply of vaccines from the federal government. Read more about this development here.

This doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily going to receive a vaccination right away; it means that everyone is now being encouraged to “get in line” by registering with the State’s Vaccine Connector. Both healthcare systems and the operators of the Vaccine Connector will still be prioritizing seniors, vulnerable adults with health complications and frontline workers over the next several weeks.

Continue reading “Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: March 29, 2021”

Dear Neighbors,

I hope you have been able to get outdoors and enjoy this early taste of spring! I was able to head out for a stroll along Nine Mile Creek in Bloomington on Sunday afternoon and the sound of running water was rejuvenating! Our days are getting brighter both literally and figuratively. 

Vaccination Update

Minnesota was recently ranked 3rd in our ability to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine.This week, we reached an important milestone in our fight against COVID-19; 70% of Minnesotans 65 years of age and older have officially been vaccinated! We had initially hoped to reach this goal by the end of March, but thanks to an increased supply from the federal government we have been able to speed things up. As a result, the state will expand eligibility to the next two phases of Minnesotans at once, starting Wednesday. Providers have been directed to prioritize people in the first of these phases, which includes Minnesotans with specific underlying health conditions; food processing plant workers; and Minnesotans with rare conditions or disabilities that put them at higher risk of severe illness. Providers will then have the flexibility to provide available appointments to other eligible Minnesotans. You can stay up to date on our stats on the State’s Vaccine Dashboard.

More than 1.8 million Minnesotans will become eligible to receive a vaccine beginning this week including:

Continue reading “Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: March 9, 2021”