Legislative Update: Small Business Support, JRLC, BIPOC Investment and more!

Dear Neighbors,

Thank you for your engagement with me on the issues that matter the most to you. I’m honored to be serving our active and diverse district. Please continue to communicate to me how you’re feeling about work at the state legislature; you can even just reply to this email!

Joint Religious Legislative Coalition Meeting

I was happy to meet with neighbors and JRLC organizers, Joan and Stuart, to talk about initiatives that JRLC is supporting through the legislative process this year. 

They expressed their deep support for the Minnesota Child Care Assistance Program, which serves over 30,000 children and 15,000 families. They let me know that currently, over 700 families are on the waiting list for assistance because the program isn’t adequately funded. I’ll be working alongside JRLC to make sure that child care is available and accessible for all of us.

They also share my support of increased investment in emergency shelters and affordable housing in this year’s Bonding bill. 80 of 87 counties in Minnesota lack sufficient shelter- and that’s a problem we need to fix.

BIPOC Community Needs in Capital Investment

Yesterday, the House Capital Investment Committee discussed TWELVE bills that would benefit BIPOC communities in Minnesota. This is the focus that we need!

“Minnesota has a great need for a robust capital investment bill this year, a need that’s even more prevalent in our Black, Indigenous, and communities of color that historically haven’t received the same attention from state funds. Our committee is focused on crafting a bill that every Minnesotan can benefit from, regardless of race or region, and it’s imperative we take advantage of this opportune moment to deliver meaningful, equitable investments for our state.” - Chair Fue Lee

Hunger Day on the Hill Meeting

This week, I met with Abigail Hindson from Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio to talk about ending hunger in Minnesota. 

Since the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, food shelves in Minnesota have seen record high numbers of visits - topping at 3.8 million visits a year. With 1 in 9 Minnesotans facing food insecurity, Minnesota’s network of over 300 food shelves throughout the state are often the first line of defense against hunger, helping put over 92 million pounds of food on the tables of low-income households each year. We need to support investment into these frontline resources, and I’ll be doing all I can to support the bills Hunger Solutions brought to me.

Spotlight on Small Business

This week, I presented the proposal I’ve been working on with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and MCCD to invest in a program that’s already been showing incredible results: the Small Business Partnership Grant Program. The purpose of this grant is to support the start-up, growth, and success of Minnesota’s entrepreneurs and small business owners through the delivery of high quality free or low-cost professional business development and technical assistance services. 

Small businesses play a crucial role in our Eastside community and small business owners employ nearly half the workforce of Minnesota, creating jobs, expanding the tax base, and contributing to the vitality of our communities. But starting and maintaining a business presents a lot of challenges to entrepreneurs, especially if they don’t have traditional access to business resources or the necessary start-up capital. I’ve heard from so many veterans, women, people with disabilities, and BIPOC Minnesotans who have been helped by this program.

Grants will also partner with nonprofits and public entities to help entrepreneurs and small businesses who have been impacted by COVID, civil unrest and other challenges over the past two years.

Stop AAPI Hate

As we mark the one year anniversary of the tragic and senseless violence in Atlanta, we have stark reminders that we have a long way to go to curb gun violence and hate crime in America. New data published by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism revealed that anti-Asian hate crime increased by 339 percent last year compared to the year before, with New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other cities surpassing their record numbers in 2020.

The significant surge is part of an overall 11 percent increase in suspected hate crimes reported to police across a dozen of America’s largest cities. In the past two years of the pandemic, there have been over 9,000 recorded attacks on Asian Americans. We have been made to feel unsafe and unwelcome in our own homes, in our own country. Asian Americans and the businesses we’ve worked hard to build to run this great country's economy deserve better. We deserve more justice. The painful lessons of history remind us that many of the attacks on Asians in this country are not new under some racist regime of fear mongering over COVID 19, but have a longer history in the systems and practices of exclusion and mistreatment of Asians and our stories in America. We, too, are Americans. We, too, are America. And we must stand together and fight against hate in all its forms.

Hometown Heroes Assistance 

Last week, the House passed a bill to update the Hometown Heroes Assistance Program. Our firefighters face alarmingly high incidences of cancer, cardiac issues, and emotional trauma. The new program, which lawmakers enacted last year, provides firefighters access to education, prevention, and care to address cardiac conditions, emotional trauma or cancer diagnoses. The Hometown Heroes Assistance Program is the most comprehensive in the nation of its kind, and provides firefighters with free access to emotional trauma resources, up-to-$20,000 from critical illness insurance policies, and ongoing health and wellness training.

Prior to the program’s enactment, Minnesota was ranked 45th out of 50 states when it comes to investing in the fire service. I was proud to support this initiative for the heroes in our communities who make incredible sacrifices to keep us safe.

Public Safety in Transportation

The House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee recently held two informational hearings this week to learn more about and how to address the growing problems associated with traffic and pedestrian safety. The committee received expert testimony from the State Patrol and the Minnesota Department of Traffic Safety showing that despite fewer cars being on the road last year, Minnesota still saw 498 deaths in traffic related crashes. 58 of those were pedestrian related fatalities, which averages more than one death a week. Speed was cited as a key contributor, but also, the lack of access to strong and safe pedestrian infrastructure. The StarTribune covered the hearings, and you can read more about various proposals on the table to address the surge in fatalities and injuries, here.

Keep in Touch

Don’t hesitate to contact me anytime at rep.jay.xiong@house.mn or 651-296-4201 if you need assistance.

It’s an honor to serve our Eastside neighborhoods at the State Capitol.

In Solidarity,

Jay Xiong
State Representative