Dear Neighbors,
Just over a week remains in the 2022 Minnesota legislative session. We’re working hard to reach a bipartisan agreement using resources from our state budget surplus to help Minnesotans tackle urgent challenges they’re facing – including rising costs – while delivering investments to improve the overall future for Minnesotans. People expect and deserve results from a government working effectively to solve problems. While Republicans prioritize tax giveaways for the wealthiest among us and large corporations, my House DFL colleagues and I are working on what matters most, including housing Minnesotans can afford, excellent health care, and a world class education for all students.
Health and Human Services Budget
I’m honored to have been appointed to a joint House/Senate conference committee to develop a compromise Health and Human Services budget. In the House, our HHS bill delivers bold investments to address the high health care costs Minnesotans are facing, including prescription drugs, insurance premiums, and other out-of-pocket costs that prevent Minnesotans from getting the care they need. The package also addresses our health care workforce shortage with solutions to attract, recruit, and retain dedicated professionals in fields such as direct care, long-term care, and behavioral health, along with other investments to address homelessness, improve mental health services, expand child care and more.
In their HHS package, Senate Republicans – largely due to their prioritization of tax breaks for the wealthy, corporations, and well connected – fail to fund many of these key priorities. Minnesotans care about one another, and we have a responsibility to ensure we deliver necessary investments so everyone can be healthy and thrive in their communities.
You can follow along with our work here.
Supporting Our Veterans
On Friday, the House approved a compromise Veterans and Military Affairs budget, and since then, Governor Walz has signed the bill into law. The package invests significant new resources to address veterans homelessness, provides additional funding for Minnesota’s new veterans homes in Bemidji, Preston, and Montevideo, and offers service bonuses to those who served during the post-9/11-era, including those who were deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Veterans deserve more than a “thank you” for their service. They deserve excellent health care, a place to call home, and strong career opportunities with the ability to achieve economic security. This bipartisan legislation helps us achieve each of these goals.
Modernizing Liquor Laws
Earlier this week, the House passed the Omnibus Liquor Bill containing a variety of updates to modernize Minnesota’s liquor laws. Under the bill, small breweries will be able to sell more products directly to consumers, including six- and four-packs of beer. The bill allows micro-distilleries to sell spirits in larger 750ml quantities and allows more distilleries to operate cocktail rooms. Currently, breweries including Castle Danger, Surly, Summit, Schell’s, and Fulton are prohibited from selling growlers to-go from their taprooms because they produce more than 20,000 barrels annually. The legislation increases this cap to 150,000.
The craft beer and spirits industries are important economic drivers in our Duluth community, and they deserve the opportunity to continue innovating and growing.
Legalized Sports Betting
Last night, the Minnesota House approved a bill legalizing sports betting. The bill, developed with the state’s sovereign tribal nations and other impacted industries, gives Minnesotans the opportunity to engage in a fair and regulated sports betting market while requiring key protections. It allows sports betting in-person at tribal casinos and mobile platforms, provides integrity monitoring to identify unfair betting patterns, and provides data protection for consumers. The bill includes significant funding to address problem gaming, and a portion of revenue generated from legal sports betting will be invested in youth sports.
In 2018, the United States Supreme Court ended the federal ban on states legalizing sports betting. Since then, 30 states have legalized the practice. All of our bordering neighbors have legalized it, leaving Minnesota on an island by ourselves. Regardless of legality, sports betting is prevalent on unregulated offshore websites and other unscrupulous outfits, leaving consumers vulnerable. Those who participate in this activity deserve a regulated, legitimate framework with protections, so I voted for the bill.
The bill’s path remains uncertain because Senate Republicans have yet to even hold a vote in committee. Stay tuned.
Frontline Worker Pay Updates
As a reminder, if you were a frontline worker during the first year of the pandemic, you may be eligible for the Frontline Worker Bonuses we recently passed into law. Visit frontlinepay.mn.gov to subscribe to important updates. A vendor has been selected to build an application system, and once it’s online – likely in June – workers will have 45 days to apply. A full FAQ document, including eligibility information, is available here.
Please continue to stay in touch with your viewpoints, ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance. Thank you for the honor of working as your public servant.
Sincerely,
Jen Schultz
State Representative