Dear Neighbor,
Earlier this week, the legislature voted unanimously in the House and Senate to approve and the governor signed into law emergency funding for the Department of Health to continue their response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The legislature and governor will continue to work together to determine additional steps that are necessary to ensure our state’s health care system can fully respond to the CONVID-19 challenge.
As this situation unfolds, social media could be rife with misinformation. Please continue to rely only on information from trusted sources. Those include the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) websites.
MDH: COVID-19 Home Page
MDH: Prepare and Prevent COVID-19
MDH: Situation Update for COVID-19
CDC: COVID-19 Home Page
CDC: COVID-19 FAQ
In other news, the governor released his supplemental budget proposal this week. Both the House and Senate are examining that proposal closely. We will work together to ensure that the supplemental budget focuses squarely on supporting the effort to combat the current public health issue and protecting Minnesota’s economy, both in the near and long term.
My approach to the current public health issue is we clear the “making a statement stuff” off the table and stay laser focused on items directly related to protecting the health of Minnesotan’s and our state’s economy.
It was a bit concerning this week, that we found time to debate bills that would impose a $1,000 a day fine on grocery stores that failed to charge 5 cents per plastic bag, or a $50 dollar fine per occurrence on restaurant owners that provided a straw to customer that did not ask for one.
In contrast, I was very pleased to be part of a unanimous vote on the House floor that moved a insulin access bill to a conference committee with the Senate to work out the final details of that important legislation.
Despite the occasional optics to the contrary, Minnesotans can be confidence that legislators, the governor, and our state agencies are working together as we put in place additional measures to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Be safe and thoughtful of others.
Sincerely,
Dale