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Dear neighbors,
Today, my colleagues and I are considering bills that would boost payments for people enrolled in the Minnesota Family Investment Program, raise the tobacco sales age to 21, increase transparency in drug pricing, and more. The floor debate is being live streamed here.
COVID-19 Economic Security Act
On Thursday, we passed the COVID-19 Economic Security Act, a package of legislation to help Minnesotans keep a roof over their heads, preserve small businesses, expand broadband access, and increase wages for personal care assistants (PCAs). It includes a $100 million investment in housing assistance and $55 million in emergency loans for small businesses. The bill also provides funding to bring high-speed broadband to unserved and underserved communities. You can read more about it here.
The Latest on COVID-19
This week, Governor Walz shared a five-point plan to protect Minnesotans in long-term care facilities. In the coming days, our state will expand testing for residents and workers at long-term care facilities, create strike teams to provide testing support, provide additional personal protective equipment to long-term care facilities, ensure adequate staffing levels, and partner with local public health organizations. More information about the new plan is available here.
Yesterday, the Minnesota Department of Education announced they’re advising schools against holding in-person graduation ceremonies. To protect the health and safety of students, families, educators, and school staff, the Department of Education is asking schools to find ways to celebrate the class of 2020 virtually. This news will be disappointing for many Minnesotans, especially high school seniors, but I’m confident that our graduates will emerge from this crisis with a unique understanding of the world and the power of community.
Minnesota’s COVID-19 dashboard, linked here, is an excellent source for the latest information about COVID-19. You can find more information about our legislative response here on the Minnesota House’s COVID-19 website.
OLA Evaluations, Audits, and Special Reviews
COVID-19 has changed the way that the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) operates, but the office is still conducting evaluations, audits, and special reviews. The Program Evaluation Division is currently evaluating the Public Utilities Commission’s public participation processes, and the Financial Audit Division is completing several audits that will be released soon. These audits will cover the Department of Administration’s SMART Program, the Department of Corrections MINNCOR industries, the Department of Natural Resources state park revenues, Department of Public Safety bulk data sales, reporting of mental health and dental claims encounter data, and state services for people with hearing or vision disabilities. The Financial Audit Division is also conducting three IT audits.
The OLA is working on three special reviews concerning the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s oversight of Water Gremlin, management of school trust land, and state regulation of for-hire passenger transportation vehicles. You can find more information about the OLA’s evaluations, audits, and special reviews here. If you have questions about any of these projects, you can email legislative.auditor@state.mn.us or call 651-296-4708.
Your Legislators
On Thursday, I had the opportunity to appear on Your Legislators, a live public affairs program produced by Pioneer PBS. I appreciated the chance to talk about our work at the Legislature and answer questions from Minnesotans. A video of the conversation will be available here.
With just nine days left in the legislative session, things will continue moving quickly. If you’d like to follow along, please check out House Public Information Services for the latest news. You can also follow me on Facebook for more frequent updates.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me at rep.rick.hansen@house.mn or 651-296-6828.
Sincerely,
Rick Hansen
State Representative
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