Legislative Update: The Final Days of the 2020 Session

Dear Neighbors, 

We’re in the final few days of the regular 2020 Legislative Session, with the bulk of our work scheduled to be completed by the end of the day Sunday, and officially adjourning on Monday. We’ll be working through the weekend on legislation that addresses the COVID-19 pandemic and delivers the resources and support Minnesotans deserve. 

It’s difficult to predict what the future holds with the pandemic and our legislative work, but though the regular session is ending, our efforts will continue. For one, House Speaker Melissa Hortman announced the formation of a Select Committee on Minnesota’s Pandemic Response and Rebuilding, and it’s also possible special sessions will be needed as issues arise.

Tomorrow on the House Floor, we will consider the Jobs and Local Projects Plan. The bill contains $2.524 billion in renovations, repairs, and replacement of public assets like higher education institutions, clean water infrastructure, correctional facilities, roads and bridges, parks and trails, municipal buildings and more - including some in our community.

Things will be happening quickly in the next couple of days, but here’s an update on what’s been happening at the State Capitol recently: 

Minnesota’s Response to COVID-19: The Next Steps

This week, Governor Walz announced that the current “Stay at Home” order will expire as planned on Monday, May 18. The order will be replaced with a new one allowing for more businesses to reopen at 50% capacity, and for groups of 10 or fewer to gather. The administration is also working with restaurants, bars, salons, and gyms to develop a way for those businesses to safely open as soon as June 1, and extending the peacetime emergency through June 12. 

Before opening, non-critical sector business and retail establishments must have a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan in place to protect the health and safety of their workers, and businesses must follow CDC and OSHA guidance. More information about these requirements is available here. The governor has also issued an executive order protecting Minnesotans who are concerned about the safety of their work environment. It allows workers to raise concerns without fear of discrimination or retaliation and protects those who refuse to work under unsafe or unhealthy conditions.

It’s important that even as we slowly begin to open more businesses and loosen restrictions, we still need to follow measures to socially distance and take precautions when going out in public. We owe it to the Minnesotans fighting this virus to ensure that our actions don’t result in an unnecessary spike of cases in our community. 

Delivering Economic Security to Minnesotans

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted many in our community, and while it has brought about some unprecedented issues, this pandemic has also laid bare the inequities that have long existed in our state. 

To address some of these issues, the House DFL’s Economic Security Agenda that we recently passed delivers much-needed relief to Minnesotans with solutions like legislation I helped craft to deliver a 15% temporary pay increase for Minnesota’s personal care assistants (PCA). These are the Minnesotans who are serving those with disabilities, our seniors, and other vulnerable populations. In addition to the increase, PCAs can now be paid for 310 hours of services per month, up from 275. Other measure include:

• $100 million in assistance for Minnesota renters, homeowners, and landlords. In addition to support for rent and mortgages, qualified applicants can receive help paying utility bills and property taxes;

• $15 million in a new Distance Learning Broadband Access Grant Program to provide students with the equipment necessary to access learning materials on the internet and reimburse school districts for costs to provide broadband access;

• $55 million to the Small Business Emergency Loan Program at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), including specific funds for our smallest businesses and minority-owned businesses.

You can read more about this initiative here.

Farmer-Lender Mediation

In addition to the measures in the Economic Security Agenda, the Minnesota House unanimously passed my bill that would extend the timeframe outlined by the Farmer-Lender Mediation Act. 

This bill pauses farm foreclosure proceedings in Minnesota until December 1st. We want to give farmers who are in mediation with their lender, or those who soon will be in mediation, more time. As packing plants and ethanol plants have shut down, milk prices have dropped, and hogs and poultry are being euthanized, farmers are facing extremely difficult financial circumstances. For the sake of our farmers, our communities, and our food supply, we need farmers to be able to stay on the farm.

Stay Connected

Over the next few days, a few great ways to stay in the loop include following my Facebook Page, Twitter, and the House Public Information Webpage. You can read up on recent bills like the Prescription Drug Price Transparency Act, raising the tobacco purchasing age to 21, and our new ban on TCE - a cancer-causing chemical. For accurate and up-to-date information on Minnesota’s response to the pandemic, 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.

For any questions you have on the resources available to our community or our work in the Minnesota House, feel free to contact me at (651) 296-0171 or rep.todd.lippert@house.mn. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely, 

Todd Lippert