St. Paul, Minn. – Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives approved the State and Local Government Finance conference committee report on a 69-62 vote. The legislation invests in the offices of the state constitutional officers, the Legislature, and over 30 state agencies, boards, commissions, and councils including Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB), Minnesota IT Services (MNIT), the Department of Revenue (DOR) and the Department of Administration (Admin).
“We know what Minnesotans expect and deserve: government to work, and to meet their needs without delay or interruption,” said Rep. Ginny Klevorn (DFL-Plymouth), chair of the House State and Local Government Finance committee. “In this conference committee report, House DFLers are reversing the decades-long trend of underinvestment in state government to better serve Minnesotans.”
This State and Local Government Finance conference committee report commits funding to the Legislative Coordinating Commission (LCC) to translate legislative business for our non-native English-speaking neighbors, establish an Office of Enterprise Translations to provide translated materials in Hmong, Somali, and Spanish, for communities of color that have traditionally not participated in the process.
The conference committee report also establishes a Council on LQBTQIA2S+ Minnesotans. The council will work toward the implementation of economic, social, legal, and political equality for Minnesota's community of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender expansive, queer, intersex, asexual, or two-spirit. The council is structured similarly to the state’s ethnic councils.
Minnesota’s state demographer estimates that an additional 285,000 Minnesotans will turn 65 over the next decade which is greater than the past 40 years combined. In response to the anticipated silver tsunami, the conference committee report establishes a Task Force on Aging to review aging-related government functions, programs, and services. It also is charged with creating plans to improve health and support services, public and private strategies to support family caregivers, sustainment of neighborhoods and communities, and supporting quality of care and life improvements in long-term care homes.
“Minnesotans deserve an effective state government that is responsive to their needs and provides the services they expect,” said House Speaker Melissa Hortman. “Our state government budget funds critically-important services, upgrades cybersecurity and IT systems, and improves oversight and administration of state grant funds.”
The report also provides overdue technology and cybersecurity upgrades around the state including statewide cybersecurity tools, grants to county and local governments, and protections for our emergency radio broadcast system. The House DFL is committed to ensuring our state systems and state information is safe and secure in an ever-evolving cyber environment.
The House DFL State and Local Government Finance conference committee report also increases grant administration oversight to ensure state grant funds reach their intended recipients. This report invests funds to determine the feasibility of a single, statewide grants management system, requires agencies to cooperate with the implementation of these systems, and establishes offices to carry out governance, oversight and management.
“Government of the people, by the people, and for the people, is one of our nation’s most cherished ideals and values, and that’s what the House DFL state and local government budget bill is all about,” said House Majority Leader Jamie Long. “This is a budget that Minnesotans can be proud of. It invests in better cyber security, IT systems, oversight for grants, and translation services. It helps us build the kind of responsive, accessible government that our active and engaged citizenry deserves.”
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