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SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA— Today, the House Ways and Means Committee approved the House DFL’s Local Jobs and Projects Proposal, or “bonding” legislative package. The legislation, which is a culmination of 43 committee hearings over the biennium where over 250 individual bills were heard, contains $2.524 billion in renovations, repairs, and replacement of public assets like higher education institutions, clean water infrastructure, correctional facilities, roads and bridges, parks and trails, municipal buildings and more. Over the legislative interim, the House Capital Investment Division traveled over 3,000 miles to each corner of the state to listen to Minnesotans in their hometowns to see firsthand the critical nature and importance of local and state agency bonding projects.

“Many of the projects contained in this proposal today are direct results of what we saw and heard on our statewide tours,” said Chair Mary Murphy (DFL-Hermantown). “We are responding to the emergencies of today and preparing for the needs of tomorrow.”

There were over $5.2 billion in bonding requests that went through the Minnesota Management and Budget application process alone and billions more that did not go through the process. Of these were $3.7 billion in state agency requests and $1.3 billion in direct requests from local governments. Continue reading “Minnesota House Ways and Means Committee Approves Local Jobs and Projects Proposal”

Minnesota’s Interim Budget Projection and everything happening in the Legislature this week.

State’s budget health takes a $4B swing Minnesota officials received an interim budget projection this week from economic experts that provides a glimpse into the sustained effects the coronavirus pandemic has had on state finances.  Read more >>

Continue reading “Senate DFL Week in Review: May 8, 2020”

Rudy Giuliani has baselessly speculated that the coronavirus could be a plot by the Chinese government, and that “life doesn’t mean” to them what it means in Western civilization. It’s one of several rants we found while listening to his broadcasts.

Presidential lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has largely fallen out of the public eye since his starring role in President Donald Trump’s impeachment. But Giuliani hasn’t gone silent.

Instead, he’s in his home, doing a call-in radio show and a podcast — “Common Sense” — during which he has repeatedly gone on bigoted rants about China and its government.

“They have no morals,” he said on his April 28 radio show. “They’re amoral in the sense that human life means something in Western civilization, it means a lot. Human life doesn’t mean the same thing to them.” Continue reading.

The Trump administration is projecting that the United States could see up to 3,000 deaths per day from the coronavirus by June 1, a person familiar with internal documents confirmed to The Hill on Monday.

Data and modeling from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that the federal government is expecting the number of cases and deaths associated with the pandemic to continue mounting, even as President Trump and other officials push for states to lift restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus in favor of reopening businesses.

The New York Times, which was the first to report on the projections, posted the documents, which show the CDC and Federal Emergency Management Agency forecast a steady increase in the number of new cases per day.  Continue reading.

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Yesterday, DFL legislators in the Minnesota House and Senate will be joining advocates for a “Who Cares for Us” Day of Action. The event, and the remaining weeks of session, will be focused on acknowledging and celebrating the workers who are caring for all of us every day of the COVID-19 pandemic, from the grocery store workers, janitors, caregivers, nurses, educators, and any frontline or essential employees that keep Minnesota going. #WhoCaresforUs showcases and engages Minnesotans in one of their core values: caring for one another.

Leading DFL members of the Minnesota legislature working in conjunction with advocates on this day of action released the following statement:

“There are Minnesotans all across our state who are putting themselves at risk to provide the care we need, put food on our tables and keep our communities safe. Our DFL colleagues in the House and Senate are proud to celebrate the stories of these exemplary Minnesotans, and we are committed to prioritizing legislation that builds a better Minnesota for those who care for us before, during, and after COVID-19.

“Grocery store workers, janitors, caregivers, nurses, educators, and other frontline workers put themselves at risk every day to care for Minnesotans. They deserve to know that we will care for them in return. We will continue advocating to better support all Minnesotans, especially frontline workers and their families, during and after the public health crisis.”

In the final weeks of session, DFL legislators are continuing to push for legislation that establishes rent and mortgage assistance, increases wages for personal care assistants, protects essential school workers, increases broadband internet access, funds the Minnesota Family Investment Program, ratifies state workers’ contracts, produces more small business loans, and expands our vote-by-mail infrastructure in anticipation of the upcoming elections. These are all issues that have received hearings and are moving through the legislative process in the DFL-controlled House.

Follow along at the #WhoCaresforUs hashtag to see the highlighted stories and experiences of Minnesotans who continue to work to keep our communities strong during this public health crisis.

Rep. Todd Lippert (DFL – Northfield)
Rep. Jamie Long (DFL – Minneapolis)
Rep. Liz Olson (DFL – Duluth)
Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL – Minneapolis)
Sen. Kari Dziedzic (DFL – Minneapolis)
Sen. Nick Frentz (DFL – North Mankato)

Far-right groups opposed to social distancing measures and stay-at-home orders have been protesting at small rallies and demonstrations in different parts of the United States, some of which are reportedly funded by right-wing donors. An anti-shutdown rally was announced for Sunday on New York City’s Staten Island, but according to the SILive website, no one showed up — except the New York Police Department (NYPD).

It’s no secret that New York City has been hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic. According to researchers at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, more than 14,450 people have died from COVID-19 in New York City — and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been emphasizing that its hospitals are absolutely overwhelmed. Nonetheless, the extremists who announced the would-be event circulated a flyer promoting an “End the Lockdown Rally” and declaring “Liberate Staten Island.”

It gets worse: the flyer urged Staten Island residents to “bring your children,” noted that “no mask” was needed and asserted, “If you’re sick, still come — it’s your right.” Continue reading.

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota County Attorneys Association (MCAA) announced its support of HF 1061, legislation to prohibit driver’s license suspensions as a result of unpaid traffic tickets. The MCCA joins a wide array of organizations in support of the bill, including the Minnesota Asset Building Coalition, the Justice Action Network, the Minneapolis and Saint Paul city attorneys’ offices, the Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, ACLU of Minnesota, the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, the State Public Defender, and others.

Rep. John Lesch (DFL – Saint Paul), the legislation’s chief author in the Minnesota House, issued the following statement: Continue reading “Rep. Lesch statement on County Attorneys’ support of driver’s license suspension reform”

President Trump unveiled Thursday broad guidelines for states to follow as they begin reopening amid the persistent coronavirus pandemic while leaving the specific plans to the governors.

The guidance, formally introduced by the president at the evening White House briefing, provides state leaders a phased list of criteria to lift social distancing restrictions. For governors to start the process, they must first show coronavirus cases in their state are decreasing.

“We’re starting our life again. We’re starting rejuvenation of our economy again in a safe and structured and very responsible fashion,” Trump said. Continue reading.