Legislative Update: HF 2815 and Frontline Worker Payments

Hearing for HF 2815

Today, the House Public Safety Committee held a hearing for my bill, HF 2815. This bill, which I discussed last week, addresses a sickening situation in which sixteen women were illegally recorded and photographed as they showered. Specifically, my bill changes how the statute of limitations works in cases where people are illegally recorded.

Currently, the statute of limitations begins immediately after the illegal recording occurs and lasts for three years. If charges are not brought during this three-year time frame, then the offender cannot be charged. In this case, many of the illegal recordings of these women were outside the statute of limitations. As a result, the offender was only charged with a fraction of the crimes that he committed.

My bill would change the statute of limitations so that it begins after the illegal photographs and recordings are reported to law enforcement.

At the committee hearing, two of the women testified in favor of HF 2815 and told their stories. The crimes that were committed against them could not be prosecuted because the three-year statute of limitations had run out. I want to thank both of these brave women for their work on this bill. Their efforts will help ensure that future offenders are prosecuted, and future victims get the justice that they deserve.

I was encouraged by the support of many of the members of the Public Safety Committee. As a result of the hearing, HF 2815 was laid over for possible inclusion in the public safety omnibus bill which will be voted on later in session. I am optimistic that HF 2815 will become law and offenders will be held accountable for their crimes.

Frontline Worker Payments

Yesterday evening, the Minnesota House of Representatives debated and voted on a program to give payments to “frontline” workers. The bill, known as HF 2900, takes $1 billion of your taxpayer money and makes it available to frontline workers via a onetime $1,500 payment per person. 

Basically, the program would require the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry to set up an application process for people to apply for the $1,500. In order to be eligible for the money, an individual must have worked in an industry that is considered “frontline” by this bill. Long-term care, health care, emergency response, public health, social service, childcare, schools, food service, retail, public transit, manufacturing, and many other sectors are defined as “frontline” in this bill.

HF 2900 is a terrible bill. This legislation fully illustrates the failure of the government’s response to the pandemic. Government wants to reward chosen groups with your taxpayer money. The idea that some people were considered “essential”, or “frontline” and others were not, was one of the single dumbest things that government dreamed up. Were agriculture workers not essential? Were small businesses not essential? Yet government now wants to use their taxpayer money to give others a handout. This is inappropriate and wrong.

In total, the federal government has sent $73 billion to the state of Minnesota. Additionally, state government has spent its own large sums of money on top of that. When is enough ever enough? People are already becoming conditioned to government bailing them out, paying their bills, and writing them checks for free. We cannot afford this. Just look at the rampant inflation that is destroying our economy. This is the direct byproduct of the wasteful and foolish spending that is going on. The government is addicted to spending your money, and it is going to take us all down if it continues.

For my full comments on this bill, please see the below video:

As you can probably guess, I voted against HF 2900. We should not be using taxpayer money to turn government into a giant charity for specific groups. Unfortunately, the bill was passed by a vote of 71-61. However, HF 2900 cannot become law until the Senate passes it and the governor signs the legislation. As of right now, neither of those things has happened.

Tim Miller