Dear Neighbors,
It's a busy time in the legislative session - hundreds of bills are now making their way through the legislative process. My colleagues and I are gathering input from Minnesotans, considering new bills, advocating for legislation, and hearing from experts. Some of that work happens during the public hearings each House committee holds a few times a week, which you can watch here.
Advocating for Hourly School Employees
Bus drivers, nutrition staff, custodians, paraprofessionals, and other hourly employees provide critical services to Minnesota students. We know these Minnesotans do amazing work in our schools - caring for, feeding, educating, and safely transporting our kids. These workers are disproportionately women and people of color. Many of them live paycheck to paycheck. When school isn’t in session, they must find short-term employment or go several months without any income. This forces valuable workers to leave the field.
The people who support our students deserve to have the same economic stability as other Minnesota workers. Last week, I presented a bill that would extend unemployment insurance benefits to hourly school workers to the Education Finance Committee. This simple policy change is critical to ensuring we can recruit and retain these school staff so they can continue to support and care for our kids. Helping dedicated workers make ends meet during the summer months is the right thing to do, and it would help prevent staffing shortages like the ones we’re experiencing right now.
Supporting Frontline Workers
Frontline workers who’ve risked their own health to keep Minnesotans safe and healthy during the pandemic deserve bonuses. I heard legislation that would provide $1,500 bonus checks to 677,000 frontline workers in three different committees last week. I voted to advance the bill, and I will continue supporting it. We have to get this done for the Minnesotans who’ve kept our communities running during this pandemic.
Strengthening Our Democracy
I’ve had the opportunity to support several bills that would protect and strengthen our democracy. The State Government Finance and Elections Committee recently heard legislation authored by Rep. Liz Boldon that would streamline the early voting process. The bill strengthens access to the ballot by expanding access to early and absentee voting. We also heard Rep. Kristin Bahner’s proposal to establish automatic voter registration (AVR). This legislation establishes a process to allow Minnesotans who apply for or renew a driver’s license or state ID card to register to vote or update their registration at the same time.
The committee heard a bill that would close dark money loopholes on Tuesday. Authored by Rep. Jamie Long, the bill clarifies and strengthens Minnesota’s campaign finance laws. The goal is to ensure Minnesotans know who is spending money in our elections and to restore power to voters.
Promoting Affordable Housing
Every Minnesotan deserves to have a safe and stable home. Last week, House DFLers introduced a plan to reduce housing costs. It would preserve and rehabilitate existing affordable housing, help create more housing, and provide assistance to prospective home buyers. The plan also invests $400 million in rental assistance and reopens RentHelpMN, the program that provided financial support to renters and landlords who were impacted by COVID-19. You can read more about the plan here.
I met with community members to discuss this critical legislation on Wednesday.
If you have any questions about these issues or others that are important to you, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can contact me by email at rep.emma.greenman@house.mn or call (651) 296-4200.
Sincerely,
Emma Greenman
State Representative