Dear Neighbor,
Before we get into other news from this week in the House, I want to remind people public meetings regarding the governor’s effort to bring California’s car standards to Minnesota through the administrative rulemaking process are next week (3 p.m. both Feb. 22 and 23). Links to attend the online events can be found here. And input still can be provided at the Office of Administrative Hearings website until the March 15 deadline.
In other news:
Re-opening Minn.
House Republicans recently conducted a press conference to discuss a strategy for re-opening Minnesota for business. The governor has not communicated such a plan to the public and, with COVID-19 numbers improving, this is a discussion we need to have.
We have been working with stakeholders from a number of business sectors to establish a reasonable plan, including a timeline for reopening and trigger mechanisms to protect us in the event of case spikes. This plan uses clear, predictable, data-driven metrics that determine future closings/re-openings.
If, at any time, a surge reappears and changes are needed to this plan, the governor and the Legislative Coordinating Commission must gather and decide, together, any new restrictions. The LCC will meet weekly (or bi-weekly) until June 1. They can together watch emerging trends, concerns or advance business openings more quickly when four or five agree.
A replay of a news conference with more details can be viewed here.
New “Vaccine Connector”
Minnesota Department of Health has announced a new tool for all Minnesotans to sign up to receive an alert when there is a vaccine available to them — regardless if they are currently eligible to receive one.
The “Vaccine Connector” is a tool for all Minnesotans who have not yet been vaccinated – the Vaccine Connector will notify you when it’s your turn for a shot.
You don’t need to sign up if:
- You have already received your COVID-19 vaccine.
- You previously registered for our COVID-19 Vaccine Pilot Program or the COVID-19 Community Vaccination Program.
- You completed the Minnesota COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Child Care survey.
Click here for more on this new tool.
DVS open Saturdays
St. Cloud’s Department of Vehicle Services site is one of 15 locations statewide that will be open on Saturdays through March 27 in order to help thousands of people who were granted driver’s license renewal extensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic complete the process.
About 200,000 Minnesotans have regular Class D driver’s licenses that expired during the pandemic and need to get them renewed before the end of March. The commercial driver’s license deadline to renew is Feb. 28. It will take time to process these licenses, so people are urged to take care of this soon. Click here for more.
Have a good weekend and, until next time, let me know how I can help.
Sincerely,
Dean