COVID-19 Economic Security Act
Last week, I was proud to support the House DFL’s COVID-19 Economic Security Act.
The legislation includes $100 million in assistance for Minnesota renters, homeowners, and landlords. In addition to support for rent and mortgages, qualified applicants can receive help paying utility bills and property taxes.
The relief package also delivers a 15 percent temporary pay increase for Minnesota’s personal care assistants (PCA), who are serving Minnesotans with disabilities, our seniors, and other vulnerable populations. In addition to the increase, PCAs can now be paid for 310 hours of services per month, up from 275. The bill allows a parent or legal guardian of a minor PCA recipient, or a spouse of a PCA recipient, to earn wages for providing PCA services during the peacetime emergency.
I was able to secure an investment of $15 million in a new Distance Learning Broadband Access Grant Program to provide students with the equipment necessary to access learning materials on the internet and reimburse school districts for costs to provide broadband access. Additionally, it invests $10 million in the state’s Border-to-Border Broadband Grant Program to expand high-speed broadband, with the funding targeted to unserved areas. Finally, it invests $2 million in the new Telemedicine Equipment Reimbursement Grant Program to reimburse health care providers and counties that purchase and install telemedicine equipment to provide COVID-19-related health care services.
Finally, the legislation appropriates $55 million to the Small Business Emergency Loan Program at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), which was launched by Executive Order 20-15 from Gov. Walz on March 23. The program’s original $30 million has since been exhausted.
Securing Pay for Hourly School Workers
Last week, the Minnesota House of Representatives approved the COVID-19 response legislation for hourly school workers. During this challenging and unexpected time of distance learning, Minnesota’s school staff have stepped up in extraordinary ways. Recognizing the value that they create every day for students, we proposed holding school districts financially whole so that they in turn can keep their Education Support Professionals, bus drivers, food program and other hourly staff whole during any school closures related to the current public health crisis.
Tobacco 21
Over the weekend, the Minnesota House approved legislation that raises the age for Minnesotans to purchase tobacco, tobacco products, electronic delivery devices, and other nicotine products, to 21. The federal government passed Tobacco 21 into law in December of 2019, which meant the minimum age required to legally purchase tobacco products increased from 18 to 21 for the entire country. Some retailers, however, have expressed confusion and insisted they will not comply until they see the change made at the state level. I was glad to support the bipartisan measure, which is on its way to the Governor’s desk for his signature.
MFIP Payment Boost for Low Income Minnesota Families
On Saturday, we also passed legislation to boost payments for low-income working Minnesotans in the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) or Diversionary Work Program (DWP). The bill would release $13.85 million in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds to provide one-time payments of up to $500 per household for families enrolled in MFIP or DWP, programs that help Minnesotans move to financial stability through work. Families that participate in these programs have limited access to COVID-19 assistance. They aren’t eligible for unemployment insurance, and many won’t receive the federal government’s COVID-19 stimulus relief checks.
House DFL Local Jobs and Projects Proposal Unveiled
The Local Jobs and Projects Proposal or “bonding” bill, has been revised from last year and is advancing in the House. Our bill invests in Minnesotans in a time when it’s needed most, and contains $2.524 billion in renovations, repairs, and replacement of public assets like higher education institutions, clean water infrastructure, correctional facilities, roads and bridges, parks and trails, municipal buildings and more. I’m pleased to report several Minneapolis projects have been incorporated into the bill including the South Minneapolis Careerforce Center, completion of the bus rapid transit D Line (Chicago-Fremont) and B Line (Lake/Marshall), and funding for the Minneapolis American Indian Center, to name a few. There’s also significant investments being made in affordable housing, our local parks, trails, and clean water infrastructure. This is a solid measure to get people back to work, and help Minnesotans in their local communities now, and in the future.
Ratifying State Contracts for State Workers
This week, the House voted to ratify state employee contracts. Approximately 50,000 state employees are covered under these contracts which are currently in effect. These state employees include nurses on the front lines of COVID-19, corrections officers, cleaning and sanitation workers, public health workers doing the essential job of testing, monitoring, tracing, and mitigating COVID-19 in Minnesota; and staff that create and administer the conduits of federal and state resources to affected Minnesotans, including small businesses, hospitals, schools, and families.
Furthermore, the costs for the labor agreements were included in last year’s state budget. Failing to ratify these contracts will mean pay cuts for essential workers, putting their wages below employees in similar jobs in the private sector.
Governor Makes New Announcement Tonight
Governor Walz will address Minnesotans live today at 6:00 p.m. to discuss the state’s next steps to address COVID-19. Tune in to the live stream on the governor's YouTube Live page here.
Keep in Touch
Please continue to contact me anytime with questions or input. I appreciate hearing from you!
It’s an honor to serve our south Minneapolis neighborhoods at the legislature.
Sincerely
Jim Davnie
State Representative
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