Dear Neighbors,
I hope your summer is going well! Our family has been busy with community celebrations, soccer games, gardening, and visiting friends and neighbors as we spend more time outside. I hope your pollinator gardens are blooming!
Lots of updates and resources in this update. I hope you find it helpful and please reach out if my office can ever be of assistance.
Special Session Update
In the last few days of the legislative session in May, the Republican Senate Majority walked away from continuing to work towards compromise. Despite a record budget surplus, they are now unwilling to come back for even a short special session to reinvest those dollars in our communities. I strongly support a short special session to put those dollars back to work, and in the pockets of Minnesotans. It is not looking very hopeful that the Senate will change their minds, but I think it’s important to leave the door open to working together to get this done.
New Laws Effective July 1
The laws we passed this session have gone into effect and you can find a comprehensive list here. Perhaps the most prominent is a law which will allow Minnesotans to purchase edibles and beverages containing 5mg of THC derived from hemp. Before this legislation was signed into law, the state of Minnesota had little to no regulatory framework. Products targeting youth quickly proliferated across the state, often with colorful advertising/packaging and candy-like products with non-childproofed containers. The new law adds necessary guardrails to protect kids, while allowing adults over 21 to purchase products with low levels of THC.
This law is an important step forward and I will continue to advocate for more comprehensive laws in the future that legalize, regulate, and decriminalize the safe use of cannabis and hemp.
Free At-Home COVID Tests Available
If you have not requested them already, free at-home COVID tests are available through several government programs. With more infectious variants continuing to spread, testing tools have become even more important to help us keep ourselves and our families safe and healthy.
MN Department of Health (4 tests per household): https://sayyeshometest.org/
Federal US Postal Service (8 tests per household): https://www.covid.gov/tests
Health insurance companies are also required to cover the cost of at-home covid test kits. Details for purchasing and reimbursement will differ depending on the company.
COVID Vaccinations for Children
COVID-19 vaccinations are now available for kids ages 6 months to 5 years. For too long, COVID-19 has kept children from doing the things they love. The best way to keep your child healthy and safe is to get them vaccinated. It helps keep them in school, sports, childcare, and other activities. Children who have received all recommended COVID-19 shots, including any booster dose(s) when eligible, do not have to stay home (quarantine) if they are exposed to someone who has COVID-19. They also do not have to get tested as often. You can learn more and find vaccination locations here.
Frontline Worker Pay
The application process for the frontline worker bonus will remain open until. July 22, 2022. Remember, you don't have to be first in line when the application opens. The funds are not first come, first served. Visit frontline pay.mn.gov to see if you are eligible and to apply today!
Stay in Touch
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can be of assistance or if you have questions or feedback that you’d like to share. You can follow me on Facebook and you can reach me by email at rep.jamie.becker-finn@house.mn or by phone at 651-296-7153.
Sincerely,
Jamie Becker-Finn
State Representative