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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Todd Lippert (DFL)

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Legislative Update: Tomorrow's Town Hall

Friday, May 1, 2020

Rep. Lippert

Dear Neighbors, 

There’s been a lot of news this week, and I want to invite you to discuss it with me and our neighbors during a Virtual Town Hall I’ll be hosting tomorrow morning at 10:30am. We’ll be streaming live on my Representative Todd Lippert Facebook Page, as well as Zoom, which you can access here with the following login info:

  • Meeting ID: 981-3318-7478
  • Password: 308719

Lippert Town Hall - May

In addition to answering your questions and hearing your stories, I’ll be interviewing a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) and client, asking them about the PCA shortage in the midst of COVID-19. One of the bills I’ve been working on, along with Rep. Jen Schultz, will provide an increase in pay for the PCAs who provide care in the home for people with disabilities and older adults. We need to care for those who care for us. 

Feel free to respond to this email with topics you’d like me to cover tomorrow. 

 

#WhoCaresForUs

Today, and really for the remainder of the legislative session, my colleagues and I in the DFL will be lifting up and fighting for the Minnesotans who go to work every day to keep our state running. These are the grocery store workers, janitors, caregivers, nurses, educators, and other frontline workers that are helping us weather this storm, and we in turn need to make sure they’re supported.

#WhoCaresForUs

Follow along with the #WhoCaresForUs hashtag to see the stories and experiences of these Minnesotans shared by legislators, advocates, and organizations. We won’t just be sharing these stories, we’ll be crafting and pushing legislation that helps not only these frontline workers, but all Minnesotans. 

In the Minnesota House, committees have already passed legislation that establishes rent and mortgage assistance, increases wages for personal care assistants, protects essential school workers, increases broadband internet access, funds the Minnesota Family Investment Program, ratifies state workers’ contracts, produces more small business loans, and expands our vote-by-mail infrastructure in anticipation of the upcoming elections.

 

“Stay at Home” Extended to May 18

Yesterday, Governor Walz announced that the “Stay at Home” order would be extended by two weeks to May 18. This is far from ideal, but it remains necessary. It can be difficult to tell at times from the isolation of our homes, but our efforts continue to buy precious time for our state. With that time we’ve seen breakthroughs in testing and a substantial amount of PPE and resources have been delivered to our hospitals. Our community continues to do an outstanding job of adhering to the order, because we know the health of our neighbors is what’s at stake.

Extended Order

The announcement also came with the news that retail businesses will be able to operate in a limited capacity with curbside pick-up and delivery. It’s a slow return to some normalcy, and this will put up to 30,000 Minnesotans back to work in a safe, coordinated way. You can watch yesterday’s COVID-19 briefing here.

 

Unemployment Insurance for Self-Employed Minnesotans

DEED has begun making Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) payments for self-employed, contract, and other workers. The program was enacted under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance

Here’s what you need to know when applying for PUA payments:

  • If you have already applied for regular unemployment benefits, you do not need to do anything extra to qualify for PUA. DEED will automatically establish a PUA benefit account for you if you are eligible.
  • If you have not applied for unemployment benefits yet, special instructions for self-employed and 1099 workers are available here. These instructions include steps you can take to make your account easily identifiable as potentially eligible for PUA.
    • If you applied for unemployment benefits without following those instructions, don’t worry – you don’t need to change anything. Your account will still be reviewed for PUA eligibility.
  • You will receive information about PUA benefits in your online account, by email, and by postal mail.
  • Applicants who receive PUA benefits will also receive the $600/week additional payment authorized by the CARES Act.
  • PUA benefits will be backdated to whenever you first became eligible due to COVID-19.

Additional information, including answers to many commonly asked questions, can be found here: COVID-19 information for self-employed people and independent contractors.

 

Stay Connected

For the accurate and up-to-date information, please visit the state’s COVID-19 Dashboard. The Minnesota House website also has a COVID-19 section with information and links to helpful resources. Regardless of whether you’re able to join us tomorrow, please feel free to reach out with any input you may have. You can reach me at (651) 296-0171 or rep.todd.lippert@house.mn, and you can also connect with me on Facebook and Twitter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Todd Lippert