Neighbors and Friends, Safe and stable housing creates the foundation for all other aspects of a healthy life. This week, the House DFL unveiled our package of legislation to reduce housing costs and create more homes. The package aims to reduce housing costs for Minnesotans with proposals to lower costs for renters, provide pathways to home ownership, build more homes while improving existing affordable housing, and provide housing security to more Minnesotans. We are also proposing immediate assistance to reopen RentHelpMN, to assist renters and landlords who are still struggling amidst the pandemic. You can read more here. Just a reminder, you can follow all the legislative action this session on housing by going to the committee webpage here.  Town Hall Thank you to everyone who joined us for the District 66 town hall on Saturday. We covered a variety of topics and I’m appreciative you took time on a weekend to participate. If you were not available, you can watch the town hall here. Paid Family Medical Leave This week a House committee heard testimony on House File 1200, the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFML), a key piece of the House DFL’s overall proposal on Economic Security for Minnesotans. The measure includes an appropriation of $1.7 billion to cover the costs of the first two years of the Paid Family and Medical Leave program. Under this legislation, workers would start receiving benefits on Jan. 1, 2023, but employers will not start paying premiums until Jan. 1, 2024. The package of benefits is designed to partially replace lost wages and allows up to 12 weeks of wage replacement benefits based on a sliding scale. The paid family leave program would be administered by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) in conjunction with, and in a similar fashion to, its Unemployment Insurance (UI) program. The legislation contains six different types of paid family and medical leave: caring for a family member with a serious health condition, bonding with a new child, pregnancy, the worker’s own health, safety leave for victims of domestic abuse, and leave for when a family member is called to active duty in the armed forces. The legislation was laid over for possible inclusion in a later bill. COVID-19 Update Getting the COVID-19 vaccination and booster can keep you and your family safe. If you’re not feeling well, get tested. You can still order up to 4 free COVID tests from the government. Go to https://www.covidtests.gov/ to get your test kits and many more resources. __________ Staying Connected You can watch legislative sessions and committee hearings by going to this link on the Minnesota House of Representatives website. The Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services also offers nonpartisan recaps of high-profile bills, committee hearings, and floor sessions with their Session Daily publication. Subscribe to receive these here. To track bills of interest through the legislative process, you can utilize the MyBills feature on the Minnesota House of Representatives website. I welcome your questions and comments anytime. You can call me at (651) 296-3824 or email me at rep.alice.hausman@house.mn. Thank you for the privilege of representing you in the legislature. Sincerely, Alice |