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Dear Neighbors,
The Legislature continues to meet in special session and send budget bills to Governor Walz. Lawmakers are on track to complete our work by July 1 and avert a state government shutdown. On Saturday, June 26th, the Minnesota House approved budget bills for public education and health and human services (HHS) — the two largest slices of the state budget pie.
Health and Human Services
The bipartisan HHS budget agreement will improve public health, make child care more affordable, expand home and community-based services, increase wages for Personal Care Attendants, and help low-income Minnesotans live with greater economic security. As Chair of the House Human Services Committee and a member of the working group responsible for negotiating a final agreement between the Democratic House and Republican Senate, I think this is the best HHS budget produced during my time in office. Click here to read the Star Tribune’s coverage of the bill.
E-12 Education
The E-12 education budget bill provides more funding for public schools compared to recent years, but we can and should do more to fully fund Minnesota’s public education system. The bipartisan agreement renews voluntary pre-K programming and will increase the number of teachers of color and indigenous teachers. Funding from the American Rescue Plan is already helping school districts provide summer learning programs so kids can overcome the pandemic’s disruption to their lives. The Duluth News Tribune wrote about the bill — read the story here.
Public Safety and Judiciary
Over the weekend, Speaker Hortman and Majority Leader Gazelka announced a bipartisan agreement to fully fund public safety and the judicial branch of state government. The House is scheduled to vote on the bill Tuesday, June 29th. Minnesotans deserve a public safety system that works for everyone, and we still have a long way to go until it’s a reality. This agreement doesn’t include everything Minnesotans are asking for, but it doesn’t mean we’re giving up. MinnPost has an in-depth story about the bill here.
Other budget bills
In addition to public safety and judiciary, the Minnesota House is voting this week on a tax bill and state government bill. The bipartisan tax bill will benefit workers who received unemployment insurance during the pandemic and small businesses that received federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to offset financial losses. I’m proud to report that the state government budget bill does not include new voter ID requirements.
Please continue to stay in touch with your viewpoints, ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance. Thank you for the honor to work as your public servant.
Sincerely,
Jen Schultz
State Representative
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