Friends,
I’m happy to report that the House passed its last omnibus budget bill of the session on Thursday. The Higher Education bill will aid students by freezing tuition for three years at schools in the University of Minnesota system and the Minnesota State Colleges and University (MnSCU) systems.
In exchange for the tuition freeze, the bill provides a $150 million funding increase for higher education – the first funding increase in eight years.
I have very real concerns that a generation of students will be unable to afford a college education. The focus of our college students ought to be their studies, not scrambling to figure out how to pay off their student debt. A four-year program all too often turns into a six-year program because they have to work at two jobs just to pay for books and housing. When they leave college, most students are burdened with crippling debt.
We have to do something to bring down the costs of a college education. I think this bill is a good first step.
Protecting our children
The House also pass legislation banning bisphenol-A (BPA) and formaldehyde from some children's products.
The first bill – House File 459 – would ban BPA from children’s food containers. This is a common sense extension of the current law banning BPA in children’s bottles and cups. The new bill prevents manufacturers and wholesalers from selling infant formula, baby food or toddler food in containers made of materials which have had BPA intentionally added.
BPA is found in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastics are often used in containers that store food and beverages, such as water bottles, and baby bottles and cups. They may also be used in toys and other consumer goods.
Some research has shown that BPA can seep into food or beverages from containers that are made with BPA or into your body when you handle products made with BPA. BPA remains controversial, and research studies are continuing. The National Toxicology Program at the Department of Health and Human Services says it has "some concern" about the possible health effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children. The Food and Drug Administration now shares this level of concern and is taking steps to reduce human exposure to BPA in the food supply by finding alternatives to BPA in food containers.
House File 458 bans formaldehyde in children’s products – specifically children’s bath products such as shampoo, bubble baths. Studies have shown high levels of formaldehyde presents a cancer risk.
Formaldehyde is designated as a Priority Chemical by the Minnesota Department of Health because of its toxicity and potential to expose children. The bill phases out the use of formaldehyde in children’s products and prohibits a manufacturer from replacing formaldehyde in a children’s product with another Priority Chemical.
We keep hearing about harmful chemicals in children’s products, even though safer alternatives for most products are already available. That’s because there is no system in place to assure that chemicals in children’s products are safe and tested before they are used. The result is that many toxic chemicals are ending up in a place they shouldn’t: our children’s bodies.
Expanding sick leave
On Thursday, after healthy debate, the House passed a bill that allows employees to use sick leave for any illnesses in the family.
As it stands, the current law requires employers to allow their employees to use their accrued sick leave for time off to care for a sick child. This bill expands the scope of this requirement to include the employee’s extended family – spouse, sibling, parent, grandparent, stepparent and the employee’s children over 18.
It is specified that the expansion of the law does not override or change any employer’s existing policies that already allow employees to use sick leave in this way.
This is an important and necessary change in the law. Many of us find ourselves caregivers, especially to our parents. Now you would have to pick between your job or caring for a loved one.
Stay in touch
Please feel free to contact me with your questions, suggestions and concerns. My office is room 549 in the State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-4201 and by email at rep.sheldon.johnson@house.mn. You can also monitor activities at the House, track bills, watch live video and sign up for my email update list by going to http://www.house.mn.
Have a good week,
Sheldon