St. Paul, MN – The 2021 Legislative Session adjourned on Wednesday with historic investments in Minnesota priorities. Rep. Laurie Pryor (DFL- Minnetonka) released this statement:
“Our charge as legislators was to pass a two-year balanced budget. This year, we were faced with unique challenges from COVID-19 and pursued an aggressive agenda to help all Minnesotans come out of the pandemic better than before. We invested in families, workers, students, and small businesses who have suffered the most the last year. Minnesotans care about each other, and our budget makes Minnesota stronger, and ready to thrive now and in the years ahead.”
House Democrats fought for many of the investments included in the budget, including:
- A historic increase in funding for public schools and preservation of all day pre-K for 4,000 preschoolers
- Financial support for frontline workers who sacrificed their health to keep all of us safe during the pandemic
- Investments in access to affordable childcare for families and increased funding for providers
- Rental assistance for tenants and landlords and expanded access to affordable housing
- Tax cuts for workers and small businesses impacted by the pandemic
- Investments to improve public health and reduce racial disparities in health care
- State aid for small businesses damaged during last year’s civil unrest
- Investments in transit, roads, bridges, and rail
- Substantial reforms to sexual assault laws to bring justice to survivors
- Measures to reform policing and increase accountability
- Invests in solar panels for schools and higher education institutions around the state