Dear Neighbors,
A number of new laws took effect August 1st that will have a positive impact on Minnesota and our families. I've highlighted a handful of them below.
Family Law Reforms
A suite of reforms pertaining to child custody law were officially enacted on Saturday. These reforms come as a result of nearly two years of research and consensus building by a working group of legislators.
The reforms include:
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Clarification on how either parent may take the child income tax dependency exemption
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Integration of parenting rights that previously took the form of a separate appendix into the body of a court order
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Allowing judges to set interest rates for certain awards in family law actions
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Revising the child’s best interest standards for custody decisions
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Clarification that 25 percent is a presumed minimum amount of parenting time in a child support determination
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A variety of changes to laws concerning custody and visitation as they apply to parents who are deployed with the armed services.
Members from both sides of the aisle came together to enact these changes. I am proud of the work we accomplished this session to pass these much needed child custody and family law reforms.
Right to Try Act Becomes Law
This bill affords terminally ill patients—who have exhausted all conventional forms of recovery—the ability to have their physician write a prescription for an experimental treatment.
Under the Right to Try Act, an experimental drug or device will need to have passed the first phase of a clinical trial, but have yet to be approved for general use by the federal Food and Drug Administration.
Manufacturers of qualifying experimental drugs or devices will be able to provide the product free of charge and insurance companies will not be required to cover the cost.
Military and Veteran Laws
For the past decade, the month of May has been Hire a Veteran Month in Minnesota to urge employers to “give fair and appropriate consideration for hiring military veterans.”
That designation will now move to July.
May is a busy month for many families with things like school graduations, fishing opener, and Mother’s Day. Moving this designation to July allows more promotional opportunities for businesses and allows the Department of Veterans Affairs to work better with the Department of Employment and Economic Development which puts on some larger job fairs in July.
Additionally, Military Spouses and Families Day has now been officially established and will be observed on the Sunday before Memorial Day. This day has been set aside to honor “the vital support and sacrifice that the spouses and families of military personnel make for the betterment and support of this country.”
Ramsey Game Fair
The Ramsey Game Fair is set to begin August 7th. Visit their website to learn more about this year’s fair.
I hope to see you there!
Staying in Touch
I was delighted to get out and enjoy National Night to Unite this past Tuesday. Have to give a special shout-out and thanks to the Anoka Police Department and Anoka/Champlin Fire Department for making so many kids smile that evening!
Thank you for taking the time to read this week’s update. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments regarding anything related to state government. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-1729 or via email at rep.abigail.whelan@house.mn.
Sincerely,
Abigail