Dear neighbors, After several months of hard work, lawmakers have agreed on a bipartisan budget framework. It includes strong investments in education, health care, public safety, and economic security for workers and families. You can read more about it here. Legislators will work out the details over the next few days. This bipartisan agreement is a good step forward, but there’s a lot more work to be done.  Pastor Ray Valenzuela from the South St. Paul Hispanic Seventh-Day Adventist Church served as the House’s guest chaplain last Thursday. Delivering Bonuses to Frontline Workers In April, we passed a bill to deliver $500 million worth of bonus pay to frontline workers. More than 660,000 people are eligible for these bonuses, including health care workers, first responders, child care providers, food service and retail workers, and more. These Minnesotans kept our state running during the darkest days of the pandemic, and they deserve to be compensated for their sacrifices and hard work. The state is building an online system to process applications for bonus payments. When it launches in a few weeks, eligible workers will have 45 days to apply. If you’d like to be notified when applications open, you can sign up for updates at frontlinepay.mn.gov.  Did you catch the “Blood Red” lunar eclipse this weekend? Paul Battaglia, one of the House photographers, got a great shot of the moon behind the Capitol building. Modernizing Minnesota’s Liquor LawsCraft breweries, wineries, and distilleries are popular places to gather in communities across the state. Outdated liquor laws have hindered the growth of some of these businesses, making it more difficult for small producers to compete with legacy brands. Last week, the House voted to reform Minnesota’s outdated liquor laws. We passed a bill that allows small breweries to sell more products directly to consumers, including six- and four-packs of beer. It also increases the growler cap so Surly, Summit, Fulton, and other breweries can sell growlers from their taprooms. You can find more information here. Stay ConnectedThings will move quickly during the last week of the legislative session. If you’d like to see more frequent updates, please follow my Facebook page. Feel free to share this email with family, friends, and neighbors who may be interested as well. If you have any questions or feedback you’d like to share, you can email me at rep.rick.hansen@house.mn or call (651) 296-6828. Sincerely, Rick Hansen
State Representative |