Dear Neighbors,
Session continues to fly by as we work to pass bills that will improve the lives of your average Minnesotan. Here is what I’ve been working on.
Data Privacy
One of the bills that I’ve worked the hardest on in my time as your Representative is a comprehensive data privacy bill (HF2309) that will protect the privacy of the personal data that companies collect about you and limit their ability to sell your personal information to advertising data brokers. Over a dozen other states have passed similar legislation and, working in cooperation with legislators across the country through the National Conference of State Legislatures, I have crafted my bill by taking the best bill provisions from states around the country while adding protections that would be unique to Minnesota.
So far, the bill has passed the House Commerce and Judiciary Committees on unanimous voice votes and I expect the same outcome when the bill is heard in the State Government Committee on Tuesday. With my partner, Senator Bonnie Westlin, at the helm, the bill has also passed the Senate Commerce Committee on a unanimous voice vote and will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. I will continue to fine tune the bill as it enters the final stretch of passage, but at this point I think it's the best such bill in the country. You can watch my presentation of the bill in the House Judiciary Committee, here.
Immigration
As Colombia has gradually gained the upper hand in its struggles against drug traffickers, the drug violence has migrated across the border into Ecuador. As a result, we’re seeing an influx of Ecuadorian families who are fleeing the violence, overland through the Darien Gap and up through Central America, and are presenting themselves at the southern border requesting asylum. For whatever reason, many Ecuadorian refugees are choosing to come to Minnesota when offered the opportunity, and some of these families are being housed in Bloomington.
To be clear, these are not “illegal immigrants”, they have presented themselves legally at the southern border as refugees seeking asylum pursuant to America’s treaty obligations under the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit Washburn Elementary School in Bloomington, where the school district is focusing its English Language Learner programs for the children of these new immigrants. In one classroom, a teacher was tutoring five young Ecuadorian boys who were showing the obvious effects of the trauma that they had experienced during their journey. At this stage they are learning the basic English language skills that they will need to become proficient learners.
As much as their parents would like to work for a living, most refugees are prevented from legally working for at least several months while their asylum claims are being evaluated. Because Congress has been unwilling to either limit asylum claims or increase funding to process these claims expeditiously, these refugees can exist in legal limbo more or less indefinitely.
At the same time, Minnesota is suffering a severe workforce shortage in all of the entry level direct care professions in nursing homes, group homes and personal care assistants helping people with disabilities in their own homes. Historically, many of these jobs have been filled by first generation immigrants who are willing to accept jobs at the first rung of the ladder of opportunity. Shouldn’t we be giving these immigrants the opportunity to fill these jobs? For the past few decades, international immigration has been the primary source of net growth in Minnesota’s workforce.
I have received numerous emails pleading with me to not vote to make Minnesota a “Sanctuary State”. To be clear, I will not be supporting “sanctuary state” legislation because I think that it is superfluous. Our police do not routinely cooperate with “ICE” because they know that, if they did, immigrants would not report crimes to the police or volunteer testimony to crimes that they have witnessed and our communities would be less safe as a result. If we want to keep our communities safe, ratting out immigrants to ICE is counterproductive. Of course, any immigrant, whether here legally or illegally, who commits a crime will face the full force of the law, and criminals who are here illegally will be imprisoned and then permanently deported.
Debt Fairness Act
Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the country. That’s why DFLers have introduced the Debt Fairness Act. Too many people are saddled with unmanageable debt because of arbitrarily high health care prices and inadequate health insurance coverage, and our current laws have been insufficient at addressing this dilemma. Medical debt depletes peoples’ rainy-day funds, causes them to incur credit card debt, and to forgo medical treatment altogether. The Debt Fairness Act aims to unburden Minnesotans from medical debt, and help working and middle class families make ends meet.
MPCA Small Business Environmental Loan Program
If your small business is looking to reduce on-site air emissions, clean up contamination, or generate less waste be sure to apply for the MPCA Small Business Environmental Loan program. The program offers zero-interest loans up to $75,000 to tackle these high-impact projects. You can learn more and apply here.
Tax Reforms to Benefit Minnesotans
I support a tax system that will benefit families, seniors, and working class Minnesotans. Last year, I voted for a tax bill that has now made Minnesota the most fairly taxed state in the nation. At each income level, Minnesotans pay about the same percentage of their income in combined taxes of all kinds (Income, Sales and Property taxes). This means rather than providing giveaways to wealthiest among us and large corporations, Democrats are ensuring the Minnesotans who count on it most will have more money in their pockets and have the economic stability they need to thrive. For instance our child tax credit will benefit working families by providing up to $1,750 for each dependent, or how we exempted social security income from being taxed for the vast majority of seniors.
Keep in Touch
Don’t hesitate to reach out if I can provide any assistance. Please follow me on my Facebook page for further updates and invite your friends and family to do so as well.
Thanks for the honor of representing you at the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Steve Elkins
Representative, District 50B
Minnesota House of Representatives