Dear Neighbor,
The big news from the Capitol this week is the legislature voted unanimously in the House and Senate to approve emergency funding for the Department of Health to continue their response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The bill included protections for taxpayers that would require money to be paid back to the general fund if it goes unspent.
The legislature is considering additional steps to ensure our state and health care system can respond as quickly and effectively as possible — Minnesotans should have confidence that legislators, the governor, and state agencies are working closely based on the expert recommendations of the Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control.
As this situation unfolds, social media could be rife with misinformation so please continue to rely only on information from trusted sources. Your best sources for up-to-date information are the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) websites.
MDH: COVID-19 Home Page
MDH: Prepare and Prevent COVID-19
MDH: Situation Update for COVID-19
CDC: COVID-19 Home Page
CDC: COVID-19 FAQ
Look for more news as this situation develops. As for other news, we continue to hear more ill-advised energy policies discussed in committee meetings. This year's “Clean Energy First” bill is (HF1405), a “scaled back” version of the Green New Deal that effectively imposes a 100 percent renewable mandate and would drive up electric bills.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 1,000 times, we should have an all-of-the-above energy policy to help deliver affordable and reliable power to Minnesotans. Yet part of the bill appears to set state policy in favor of shutting down all existing non-renewable power plants. And liberals in the House clearly are still bent on stopping the gas plant from being built at the Sherco site in Becker.
Watch for more news from St. Paul as things unfold, especially regarding the fluid situation surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. We passed funding to aid efforts to combat it and time will tell if any additional steps are necessary to protect the public.
Sincerely,
Shane