Dear Neighbors,
As we begin 2016, I send you greetings for a prosperous new year! During this first week of 2016, I’m taking time to reflect on the strides Minnesota has taken in the last year, and the work yet to come.
Looking Back
2015 was a year that began with much optimism. Our economy was headed in the right direction, our budget was stable, and it felt like we had finally dug our state out of the hole from the great recession. In some ways we continued that progress. For example, earlier this year, CNBC named Minnesota the #1 state in the nation for business. The analysts that create the rankings found that Minnesota had excelled in areas of education, our large number of highly skilled employees, and our excellent quality of life. And last month, our state's economic report showed our state budget is in surplus with structural stability that has not otherwise been seen this century.
In many other ways, 2015 was a year of missed opportunities. This past legislative session the legislative majority failed to pass a much needed transportation bill despite studies showing that our roads, bridges, and transit need an additional $6 billion in funding over the next ten years. The legislature also failed to address the economic challenges facing many everyday Minnesotans. I supported HF 140, a bill that would have used a portion of our budget surplus to reduce property taxes for homeowners and renters, but no bill was able to pass the House that included permanent tax relief for working class and middle class families and seniors.
I had some individual policy successes that included HF 1999, which appropriated money to the St. Paul YWCA for training and job placement assistance in their Commercial Driver's License (CDL) training program. As stated on their website, the YWCA’s Employment & Economic Development programs “empower people to build skills and overcome barriers to employment and self-sufficiency. Providing employment and training services, the department helps people to experience success and provides ongoing case coordination, training and support as they strive to gain new credentials, maintain employment or move from welfare to work.”
Also, HF1676 legislation I co-authored brought in $2.4 million dollars to the St. Paul Promise Neighborhood (SPPN) in our district. The SPPN includes three schools: Maxfield Elementary, Jackson Magnet Elementary, and St. Paul City School (charter school). The SPPN focuses on creating better educational outcomes for children by focusing on the whole family, including stabilizing families through their supportive housing program (preventing homelessness), early childhood education (scholarships), providing services around job training and mental health services.
My ongoing work on homelessness, housing, education, tobacco prevention, dementia education, early learning education, jobs, economic development have been recognized by community advocates and have not gone unnoticed by many at the legislature.
Looking Forward
In many ways, I am hoping 2016 will be an opportunity to hit the reset button at the legislature. Too many ordinary Minnesotans continue to be left behind in an economy that favors insiders and the wealthy few.
The 2015 US Census report of household income for blacks in Minnesota plummeted in the past year. From 2013 to 2014, the median income for black households in the state fell 14 percent. In constant dollars, that was a decline from about $31,500 to $27,000 — or $4,500 in a single year. Meanwhile, the statewide poverty rate for black residents rose from 33 percent to 38 percent, compared to a stable overall state poverty rate of 11 percent. The median black household in Minnesota is now worse off than its counterpart in Mississippi.
This data is unacceptable and must be addressed here at the Legislature with a portion of the $1.2 billion surplus. I have been appointed one of the lead Democrats on the income inequality legislative working group to address the state of the black family in Minnesota and see what we can do during a potential special session or in the upcoming regular session in March. I've been meeting with individuals and organizations from the community to hear their solutions. I hope to also hear from you as I work to bring your voices into the working group to support the needs of the black family and put forward legislation that will help create better economic outcomes for black families.
I am hopeful we can seize our opportunity to build a Minnesota where everyone has a chance at economic security and a better life.
There’s much to do, and much opportunity too. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with your thoughts about priorities for 2016.
I hope that you've had a peaceful and joyous holiday season and wish you the very best for 2016. Thank you for the honor of serving our community.
Together we are stronger!
Sincerely,
Rena Moran
State Representative