ST. PAUL – On Monday February 20, Rep. Fue Lee (DFL-Minneapolis) Capital Investment proposal was approved and will move to the Ways and Means committee. The legislation includes significant investments for BIPOC communities across Minnesota. The Minnesota People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus issued the following statement:
“The POCI Caucus thanks Chair Lee for his strong package of strategic investments in BIPOC communities. We need equitable bonding and the POCI Caucus will fight to ensure funding is invested into BIPOC businesses and communities to not just build buildings but also strong communities. Across Minnesota, we need strong capital investment into BIPOC community non-profit organizations, small businesses, and community-based organizations. We are committed to investing in grants to BIPOC non-profit organizations serving Hispanic/Latinx, Indigenous, Black, Somalian, and Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities across the Twin Cities. We are committed to enhancing the lives and communities in Greater Minnesota by investing in the Department of Employment and Economic Development to increase housing and childcare facilities. Marginalized communities have had historical underinvested which have led to and perpetuate the significant disparities we have in our state. We must disrupt the status quo— we do that by investing in community leadership and spaces that are working closely with youth and families to ensure they have the resources and tools they need to be successful. Every family deserves ample opportunities towards establishing generational wealth, financial stability, and economic security, and this legislation is an important step towards achieving that goal.”
The POCI Caucus is comprised of; Rep. Esther Agbaje (59B), Rep. Jamie, Becker-Finn (40B), Rep. Ethan Cha (47B), Rep. Mary Frances Clardy (53A), Rep. Cedrick Frazier (43A), Rep. Aisha Gomez (62A), Rep. Hodan Hassan (62B), Kaohly Vang Her (64A), Rep. Athena Hollins (66B), Rep. Samakab Hussein (65A), Rep. Heather Keeler (04A), Rep. Alicia Kozlowski (08B), Rep. Fue Lee (59A), Rep. Liz Lee (67A), Rep. Mohamud Noor (60B), Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega (65B), Rep. Ruth Richardson (52B), Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura (63A), Rep. Samantha Vang (38B), and Rep. Jay Xiong (67B).
A spreadsheet of proposed investments can be found here.