Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee first approved the March 30, 2022 minutes by voice vote. It then took up House File 4367, a capital request for Brittany’s Place, Minnesota’s first and largest emergency shelter for youth survivors of sex trafficking. Representative Berg and CEO Dan Farr of 180 Degrees described the project as a $150,000 request to finish construction and upgrades for a trauma-informed, safer, more home-like facility for girls ages 12 to 18; members noted the project’s importance, and the bill was re-referred to the Capital Investment Committee on a roll-call vote of 16 ayes and 3 excused. The committee next heard House File 3274, which addresses the children’s mental health crisis and shortages in residential treatment and psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs). Representative Fisher and testifier Connie Ross of North Homes Children and Family Services described severe staffing shortages, long waitlists, reduced capacity, and financial losses, and said the bill would provide administrative simplification and one-time funding, including emergency relief and startup/ongoing grants. The committee adopted the division report by voice vote and laid the bill over for possible inclusion in the Human Services omnibus bill. Finally, the committee moved to House File 4071, concerning the state task force on subminimum wage and Section 14(c) employment for people with disabilities. Representative Eklund and supporters, including Michael Datz, Jim Clapper, and Sue Hankner, argued the bill would make the task force more inclusive by adding families and self-advocates and shifting its purpose away from eliminating 14(c) work options toward promoting independence and competitive wages. Testimony emphasized choice, safety, and the value of center-based and commensurate-wage work for many disabled Minnesotans; the bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill, and testimony continued with a Legal Aid witness as the transcript ended.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee met in quorum to consider a conference committee report on Senate File 3472 / House File 3717, and first adopted amendment A22-0401 before discussing the report. Nonpartisan staff explained that the agreement extends Minnesota’s premium security plan/reinsurance program, makes changes to private health insurance coverage, and includes a new requirement for health plans to cover comprehensive postpartum visits at three and 12 weeks, plus any provider-recommended visits in between. The report also requires certain individual and small-group silver and gold plans to use pre-deductible flat-dollar copays, with a new conference-added provision allowing plans with fewer than 75 enrollees to discontinue those offerings under notice, guaranteed alternative coverage, and nondiscrimination requirements. The fiscal walkthrough described large general fund transfers to support the reinsurance extension and MNsure, along with Health Care Access Fund appropriations tied to MinnesotaCare and contingent on federal action regarding the state innovation waiver/BHP issue. Members then debated the package. Supporters, including the chair, Senator Dahms, Senator Klein, and Senator Draheim, said the agreement would prevent sharp premium increases for people in the individual market, provide stability for insurers and providers, and offer immediate relief through the flat copay provision for people facing large early-year prescription drug costs. They also praised the postpartum coverage change as an important maternal health improvement and noted the bill’s funding for the Health Care Access Fund. Opponents, including Representative Liebling and Representative Schultz, argued that reinsurance is only a temporary “bridge to nowhere,” does not address underlying health care or drug costs, and relies on large public subsidies to insurance companies. They also criticized the removal of House priorities such as mental health parity enforcement, a study of health care delivery reform, and a public option concept. The committee did not take a final vote on the conference report in the portion provided, but it did unanimously adopt the amendment after the staff walkthrough. The discussion ended with continued member comments for and against the compromise, with supporters emphasizing affordability and immediate market stability and opponents emphasizing the lack of a longer-term structural solution.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee took up House File 1404, the data practices policy omnibus bill, and first adopted the DE5 amendment after briefly reconsidering an earlier vote so staff could explain additional changes. Nonpartisan staff walked through the bill’s articles, which combined provisions on government data practices, student data privacy, the Minnesota Human Rights Act, and several civil law topics. The data practices article included Safe at Home updates, classification and destruction requirements for certain tax and bank records submitted with license applications, student privacy provisions, education support services data, background check data sharing, and a mobile tracking device provision. Later articles covered the Uniform Canadian Judgments Bill, multiple Minnesota Human Rights Act changes such as race and hair protections, pay history inquiries, closed captioning access, and anatomical gift nondiscrimination, as well as civil law changes on snowmobile citations, name changes after dissolution, guardianships, virtual marriage licenses, notary solemnization of marriages, indemnity contracts, and restraining orders for emancipated minors. The committee heard brief supportive testimony from Julia Decker of the ACLU of Minnesota, who thanked the chair and authors for including the Student Data Privacy Act and said it would better protect students’ civil liberties. Members then adopted several amendments: A2, which made the mobile tracking device provision effective immediately; A3, which added the digital repair bill allowing consumers and independent repair providers access to parts, tools, and instructions; A5, which added audit trails and role-based access for education support services data; and A4, which changed the effective date for the pay discrimination provision. Representative Scott said he supported some parts of the bill, especially student data privacy and the tax-record confidentiality language, but would vote no because of other provisions he opposed. After amendment adoption, the committee approved the DE as amended and then voted to refer House File 1404, as amended, to the General Register. The final vote on referral was 10-6, with the motion prevailing.

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee met remotely and first approved the minutes from March 29 by voice vote. It then took up House File 3926, authored by Representative Keeler, which would increase teacher prep time from roughly 45 to 66 minutes by changing the formula for earning prep time and would require that prep time be uninterrupted. Keeler said the bill responds to teachers’ concerns that prep time is often consumed by meetings and other duties. Testifiers, including a Moorhead third-grade teacher and a veteran elementary teacher, said more protected prep time is needed to plan differentiated instruction, handle student needs, and reduce exhaustion. A Northfield principal opposed the bill as written, arguing it would reduce local control, increase costs, require more staff or larger class sizes, and cut into direct instruction time. Members debated whether the bill would effectively pay teachers for non-teaching time and whether it would override collective bargaining. Representative Drazkowski opposed the bill, while Representatives Huaqin, King, and Thompson supported the need for more prep time. Representative Erickson questioned why the Legislature should intervene in contract bargaining, and Keeler replied that teachers are asking for help and that the bill is meant to address a statewide problem. The committee laid House File 3926 over for possible inclusion in a future omnibus bill. The committee then moved to House File 4233, authored by Representative Edelson, concerning special education due process paperwork and teacher prep time. The committee approved Edelson’s DE2 amendment, which she said was developed with stakeholders and superintendents to add flexibility for districts. The amended bill would let districts address due process work through options such as additional paid time, substitute coverage, flexible learning days, or due process clerks, with a fallback of 10 additional paid days if no agreement is reached. Testifiers, including a special education teacher and a Legal Aid attorney, said the paperwork burden forces educators to work nights and weekends and contributes to turnover. The bill was then laid over for further consideration.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The committee took up SF 4019, the supplemental agriculture and rural development budget bill, adopted the DE/A1 amendment, and re-referred the bill to the Finance Committee. Chair set testimony limits and first heard from Agriculture Commissioner Tom Peterson, DNR Deputy Commissioner Bob Meyer, and Board of Animal Health Director Dr. Beth Thompson. Peterson said the budget reflects a strong agriculture package and highlighted support for meat processing, soil health, farm business management, specialty crops, IT modernization, and emergency funding, while expressing concern that the Senate bill’s emergency account language is incomplete, that grain indemnity language was omitted, and that the bill needs more dollars for drought and avian influenza response. Meyer said DNR does not support the bill’s changes to concurrent authority language while the agencies finalize their memorandum of understanding and data-sharing agreement, and he also warned that broadband permitting work needs funding for two FTEs to avoid backlogs. Thompson said the Board supports implementing last session’s concurrent authority changes for white-tailed deer, wants continued discussion of the definition, and said most of the MOU work is done and should be ready after the board’s April 12 meeting and by the time the committee returns from Easter break. Members questioned Meyer and Thompson about the status of the MOU and whether the bill’s language requiring the agencies to act in conjunction was premature. Meyer said the statutory changes are premature and should be handled in the MOU rather than in statute; Thompson said the board wants to discuss the issue further with its members but can complete the MOU on the same timeline. The chair said the committee would like to see the agreement completed sooner rather than later. After that, the committee moved to public testimony. Testimony on the bill split between support for agriculture provisions and opposition to animal-exemption language. Tim Spreck of the Minnesota Deer Farmers Association thanked the committee for funding to offset losses from no-movement orders and supported the “two to tango” concurrent-authority language. Stu Lori of Minnesota Farmers Union supported meat processing, disease preparedness, and soil health, but urged inclusion of a grain indemnity fund and said current bonding is failing producers. David Van Eckhout of The Good Acre supported funding for the Local Emergency Assistance Farmer Fund, and David Larson of Cooperative Network supported the bill’s higher reimbursement cap, border-to-border grants, and cooperative financing. On the other side, Emily McCormick of the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance, Keith Straff, and Rhys Frederickson opposed the ZAA exemption, arguing it would weaken Minnesota’s regulated animal law and increase public-safety and animal-welfare risks. Charlie Salmond of the Zoological Association of America and Joan Hemker of Hemker Park and Zoo urged equal treatment for ZAA-accredited facilities and supported the exemption.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee first approved the minutes from March 25 and March 28, 2022. It then took up House File 3898, a bill by Representative Jordan to lower Minnesota’s statutory definition of an elevated blood lead level from 10 to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter, aligning it with CDC guidance for children. Representative Jordan and testifiers from the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Health said no level of lead is safe, that children are the most vulnerable, and that the change would help prioritize public health resources and allow more environmental assessments and remediation when resources are available. Members asked about whether the bill would change enforcement, why the threshold was not set at zero, how lead exposure is identified and communicated to families, and whether lead levels decline after the source is removed. MDH said the bill would expand authority but not mandatory requirements, and that children under age two are routinely screened; the committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion in the health finance bill. The committee then moved to House File 4115, also by Representative Jordan, on lead service line replacement in drinking water. After adopting the DE1-1 author’s amendment, Jordan described the bill as creating a state grant program administered by the Department of Health, funded at $30 million annually for 10 years, to help municipalities and community water systems remove and replace lead service lines, with at least 70 percent of funds directed to privately owned portions. The bill also creates a $10 million grant program for inventorying and mapping lead service lines, sets a goal of removing all lead lines by 2032, requires large systems to develop workforce plans, and directs systems to submit inventories and plans to MDH for publication. The chair moved the bill to the Capital Investment Committee, and the committee adopted the amendment and referred the bill onward.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The Property Tax Division met remotely on March 30, 2022, approved the March 28 minutes, and continued public testimony and markup of House File 4064, the division report. Testifiers included Matt Massman of the Minnesota Inter-County Association, who supported several parts of the bill such as the homestead market value exclusion, renter and homeowner refunds, senior deferral changes, reduced delinquent property tax interest calculations, increased county program aid, and funding for soil and water conservation districts, while also urging future work to simplify the property tax system. Brad Lundell of Schools for Equity and Education supported the school levy equalization provisions, saying they would provide broad property tax relief and help low-property-wealth districts, but he said local option revenue, voter-approved levy equalization, and cooperative facilities issues still needed attention. The committee then took up amendments to House File 4064. The A4 amendment, described as an author’s amendment, made technical corrections to tourism improvement district and TIF language, clarified a solar energy provision, and added school cooperative/joint powers language so lease and deferred maintenance costs could be allocated back to member districts; it was adopted by voice vote. The A3 amendment, based largely on Department of Revenue feedback, made technical and implementation corrections related to the property tax refund for renters being converted to an income tax credit, and added a simplified filing process for taxpayers who do not normally file returns; it was also adopted by voice vote. Representative Torkelson’s A1 amendment, restoring a property tax exclusion for certain surviving spouses of military members whose prior exemption had lapsed, was adopted after discussion clarified it would apply prospectively rather than retroactively. His A10 amendment, which would have restored a White Park local option sales tax street project, failed on a roll call vote, 4-8, after the chair objected that the city had not submitted the required resolution and the committee had moved away from funding local street projects through that tool. Finally, Representative Hertos offered the A2 amendment to change the local government aid formula to create a more predictable “safety net” for cities; members discussed whether the formula should be tied to specific needs rather than population, and the amendment was still under consideration as the transcript ended.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee held a public testimony hearing on the D.E. amendment to Senate File 2673, the Senate’s public safety omnibus bill carried by Senator Limmer. Chair and sponsor comments emphasized that the committee would not vote that day and would take action later in the week. Testimony focused on funding for the judicial branch, probation and community supervision, law enforcement recruitment and retention, mental health supports, youth intervention, emergency management, body cameras, and violent crime enforcement, along with a transparency provision related to dismissal/prosecution data. Judicial branch witnesses, including Judge Lois Conroy and labor representatives, praised the proposed six percent pay increase for judges, court staff, and court reporters as important for retention, recruitment, and maintaining court operations amid backlogs and retirements. County attorneys supported resources for prosecutor training but raised concerns about dismissal-reporting language. Probation and county officials strongly backed increased probation funding, saying current reimbursement formulas are outdated and underfunded, and urged a more transparent, equitable long-term funding model. Emergency management and mental health advocates supported funding for preparedness, public defenders, treatment courts, community corrections treatment, family support, and youth intervention programs. Law enforcement representatives, including the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association and Sheriffs Association, supported recruitment and retention funding, mental health resources for first responders, body-worn camera funding, violent crime task force support, and youth intervention grants. They also endorsed the bill’s transparency and crime-focused provisions, including carjacking, fleeing, and auto theft-related measures. A crime victim, Lisa Walker, described a violent home invasion and criticized gaps in supervision and interagency communication, urging stronger public safety action. No votes were taken during the hearing; the chair closed testimony and moved to member questions, including a question about handling individuals with mental health issues.