Dear Neighbors,
With the Delta variant continuing to take hold around the country, it’s important for as many people as possible to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Minnesota has reached the 70 percent vaccination threshold, but there is still much more progress we can make. If you haven’t yet done so, please do your part to protect yourself – as well as our public health – by getting your shot. Click here to be connected to vaccine opportunities.
Child Tax Credit
To help our country rebound from COVID-19’s economic turmoil, President Biden and Congressional Democrats enacted the American Rescue Plan earlier this year. As part of this significant economic recovery package, nearly all working families will receive the largest Child Tax Credit in history, with it increasing from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child for children over the age of six and from $2,000 to $3,600 for children under the age of six, and the age limit increasing from 16 to 17.
Yesterday, the first payments under this provision started making their way to the bank accounts of those eligible. If you’ve filed tax returns for 2019 or 2020, or if you signed up to receive a stimulus check from the Internal Revenue Service, you will get this tax credit automatically. More information is available at childtaxcredit.gov.
Great Lakes Poll
The Great Lakes provide us tourism, commercial, and economic benefits, not to mention the habitats and ecosystems we all value. The International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board is looking for feedback about issues related to the Great Lakes and water quality. They are seeking a wide range of input from people encompassing their opinions, values, and beliefs about the Great Lakes, as well as their concerns and suggestions for the future.
Please share your feedback by taking this brief opinion poll. It only takes about ten minutes, and your responses will be kept confidential.
New Laws
Three new laws took effect July 1 as a result of legislative action in the regular session. These include changes to the statute governing tax-forfeited land sales, a package of updates to our pension and retirement law, and payments resulting from claims against the state. More information can be found here. Information on other new laws, including those taking effect August 1, and those passed during the special session, can be accessed here.
Conversion Therapy
Yesterday, Governor Walz signed an executive order prohibiting the practice of conversion therapy in Minnesota. The practice, discredited by every leading medical and scientific association including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics, seeks to change a patient’s gender or sexual orientation. For many children who have been forced to endure it, the experience has been traumatic with long-term impacts on their mental health. Duluth banned the practice in 2019.
In Minnesota, we value all of our children, and under no circumstances should “therapy” be used in an effort to change their gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation. I thank Governor Walz for this major step in upholding this value. Read the governor’s full order here.
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