Legislative Update- September 3, 2021

Dear Neighbors,

Wishing all our students and families in ISD # 279 a great 2021-2022 school year ahead. After the unprecedented disruptions to learning amid COVID-19 last year, our kids need and deserve support and resources to catch up, which is why my colleagues and I fought hard for the largest investment in education in 15 years. Our budget prioritizes students from cradle to career, and as result of the strong bipartisan investments we made, ISD #279 will receive $207 more per child in 2022 and $348 more per pupil in 2023.

Tax Benefits on School Supplies

As your family prepares for the upcoming academic year, many school supply purchases qualify for K-12 tax benefits to your 2021 Minnesota tax return. Save receipts from these purchases, including distance learning needs, and claim the K-12 Education Credit or Subtraction. You can learn more about these tax returns here. Here are some expenses that qualify for refunds:

• Paper and notebooks
• Pens and pencils
• Rental or purchases of educational equipment, including musical instruments
• Computer hardware (including hotspots, modems, and routers) and educational software (up to $200 for the subtraction and $200 for the credit)
• After-school tutoring and educational summer camps taught by a qualified instructor

New laws

Several new laws took effect last month, including legislation that:  

• Allows incarcerated Minnesotans who give birth to spend more time with their babies. Under current law, newborns are taken away from their parent after just 48 hours, interrupting critical bonding time and creating unnecessary trauma for both. This law permits the Department of Corrections to conditionally release pregnant and postpartum inmates for up to a year- a critical time for strong and healthy baby development. Between 2031 and 2020, 77% of women were sentenced to prison while pregnant for less than 9 months. 84% were committed for nonviolent offenses. The average length of stay for a pregnant woman is 4 and a half months. 41% of mothers who gave birth while incarcerated reached their release date within 90 days of giving birth.
• Requires police chiefs to report all disciplinary actions taken against police officers to the Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Board. This will help identify patterns of behavior and keep problem officers off the streets. 
• Expands eligibility for housing grants in a natural disaster area to tribes and tribal housing corporations. 
• Requires the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate criminal sexual conduct cases involving members of the Minnesota National Guard. This law will help individuals who experience sexual assault at the hands of another Guard member to get justice. 
• Strengthens protections for renters with service or support animals. For example, one new law prohibits charging additional fees or rent for a service or support animal.

You can view a list of all the laws that took effect August 1 here. 

Redistricting Process Begins

It’s time to start the redistricting process that happens once every ten years. The objective is to make sure the new maps are fair and reflect the geographic, racial, ethnic, and economic diversity of Minnesota. As a member of the House Redistricting Committee tasked with this responsibility, I’m committed to working with all my colleagues to draw fair and transparent maps that serve all Minnesotans equitably.

Redistricting happens every decade after the U.S. Census is conducted. Legislators use full and complete Census data to draw political maps that reflect how the population in Minnesota has changed. That means redrawing the boundaries of Minnesota’s eight congressional districts, 67 state senate districts, and 134 state house districts.  At the end of the process, each one should contain approximately the same amount of people as other districts of its kind.

It's critical that this process is transparent and open to the public. In the coming weeks, the committee will be hearing from folks from every corner of the state. Residents of our district, the 3rd Congressional District, are welcome to testify on Monday, September 13 at 3:00 p.m. I encourage you to share input with us on how the maps should be drawn, and the overall redistricting process.

Maple Grove and Osseo residents can sign up to testify or submit written testimony by emailing nancy.conley@house.mn.

Keep in Touch

Please reach out anytime if you have questions or input. I appreciate hearing from you!

Thank you for the honor of serving our Maple Grove and Osseo residents and families in the Minnesota House.

Have a safe and happy Labor Day Weekend.

Be well,

Kristin Bahner

Your State Representative