Dear Neighbors,
I hope you’ve been enjoying summer and all our great state has to offer. We’re approaching back to school season and the State Fair, so make sure you get out there and enjoy the last half of summer while you can! Here’s an update on what’s been going on at the Capitol and around the state
Expanding Education and Making it more Inclusive
Transgender students: At their July 19 meeting, the Department of Education's School Safety Technical Assistance Council voted to adopt “A Toolkit for Ensuring Safe and Supportive Environments for Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Youth.” The 11-page document is not new policy, instead it is intended as a resource to help schools and districts “create school environments where transgender and gender nonconforming students are safe, supported and fully included.” It covers similar topics to the guidance provided by the US Department of Education in 2016 which was rescinded by the Trump administration earlier this year.
A number of GOP legislators opposed to the toolkit attended the meeting and spoke against its adoption, including Reps. Tim Miller and Abigail Whelan.
Early Childhood Education and Pre-K get a big boost: Due to the hard work of Governor Dayton and the Legislature this year, we were able to continue voluntary, school-based pre-K for many children in Minnesota. This week the governor announced that 109 school districts and charters will receive funding for pre-K and nearly 5,000 new kids will be eligible for Early Learning Scholarships.
That means we’ll be sending 22,500 kids to preschool this year that might otherwise not be going! Minneapolis will be receiving nearly $2 million in one-time funding this year for voluntary pre-K and school readiness programs. That’s progress the Legislature made to expand education I think we can all be proud of.
Making Taxes Fairer
Save on your back to school shopping: The Minnesota Department of Revenue is reminding parents that most school supplies could qualify for valuable K-12 tax benefits on their 2017 Minnesota income tax return. Parents should remember to save the receipts for school supply purchases to claim the tax credit or subtraction.
Property Tax and Renters Credit refunds due August 15th: Many people don’t apply for a refund because they don’t know they’re eligible. The average refund is around $800 and a general rule is if you spend more than 2% of your income on taxes, you’re eligible for a refund. Find out if you’re eligible and file online for your refund at the Department of Revenue’s website.
Transportation and Transit
Metro Transit Fair Hike: Met Council approved 25-cent fare hike for local/express buses, light rail and commuter rail and 50-cent for Metro Mobility. Increases were needed to help offset a projected $110 million budget deficit in FY 20-21. The Council also voted to make permanent the Transit Assistance Program that provides a discounted fare of $1.00 per ride at all times to qualifying low-income riders.
Minnesota must pass a comprehensive transportation and transit package in the next biennium or we’ll continue to face short-term stop gap fixes and funding measures.
Protecting Voting Rights
Secretary of State Steve Simon Protects Minnesota Voter Data: Last month, President Trump’s Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity requested significant data from all 50 states on the voting history of their registered voters. Minnesota’s Secretary of State Steve Simon joined with election officials in 45 states when he refused to release Minnesota voter data to the Commission. Several legislators have commending him for his efforts to protect private data on Minnesota voters, noting that the release of such data would violate Minnesota data privacy laws. When the Colorado Secretary of State announced he would send Colorado voter data to the Commission, nearly 3500 Colorado citizens rescinded their voter registrations.
Protecting our Environment
Water Quality Town Halls: Governor Mark Dayton announced the dates and locations of a series of Water Quality Town Hall meetings that started in late July. The ten town halls will offer Minnesotans an opportunity to discuss the water quality challenges facing their communities and our state, learn from experts, and engage with policymakers. The town hall meetings build on the momentum from Governor Dayton’s “25 by 25” Water Quality goal proposal. For more information, please go here
Minneapolis will host one of these town halls on September 26th.
Higher Education
SELF Refi Update: At the end of last month, the Office of Higher Education announced new eligibility criteria associated with the student loan refinancing program (SELF Refi). The release announcing the changes note: Launched in January 2016, SELF Refi was created to help qualifying borrowers locked into higher rate private loans both lower their monthly payments and their overall debt. Current credit requirements of the program presented challenges for some borrowers; the new eligibility criteria will make refinancing loans more accessible to Minnesotans. Beginning June 29th, the minimum FICO score needed to refinance a student loan without a cosigner will be 700, down from the previous required score of 720. The debt-to-income ratio is increased to 50% with a co-signer. Both of these changes are geared toward making refinancing student loans more accessible to Minnesotans. To see the press release click here and for more info on the SELF Refi program, click here.
Sexual Assault on Campuses: Another area at which the U.S. Dept. of Education has taken aim is in the administration of civil rights violations and sexual assaults on campuses. In addition to noting the Dept.’s recommendation to cut the number of staff dealing with civil rights, NPR also reported that new guidelines have been distributed that “loosened the requirements for campus investigations” and many are concerned about the direction the policy will go for victims. The story noted: “Candice Jackson, the acting assistant secretary for the Office of Civil Rights, wrote in the memo that the department, in an attempt to "clear case backlogs," will decide the scope of investigations on a "case by case basis" rather than "one size fits all."
Ms. Jackson also made news with her comment in an interview with the NY Times when she opined that current sexual assault on campus investigations may not be entirely balanced and suggested “… Rather, the accusations — 90 percent of them — fall into the category of ‘we were both drunk,’ ‘we broke up, and six months later I found myself under a Title IX investigation because she just decided that our last sleeping together was not quite right.’”
Not unexpectedly, survivors of sexual assault and victim advocates expressed concern about the direction enforcement policies would go. (See NY Times and HuffPost for complete stories).
Civics 101 with Keith Ellison on Monday
Rep. Ellison welcomes you to attend his Civics 101 forum at Brian Coyle Center this coming Monday, August 14 from 6-7:30pm to give constituents a chance to engage with area public officials who represent them at the local, state and federal level.
A Facebook event and more information can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/160558007839365/?active_tab=about
Stay Connected
You can always contact me at rep.ilhan.omar@house.mn or at 651-296-4257. I appreciate hearing from you.
Please follow me on facebook and twitter to stay up to date and receive action alerts.
Sincerely,
Ilhan Omar