Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The program focused first on Minnesota’s long-term care staffing crisis, with Senate and House leaders describing severe shortages in nursing homes, assisted living, and group homes, worsened by COVID-19 and low pay. Senate Human Services Reform Chair Jim Abeler said the industry was already struggling before the pandemic and outlined a Senate proposal for about $322 million in one-time funding, including $1,000 retention bonuses, $1,500 recruitment bonuses, and money for training and uniforms. He and House Human Services Chair Jennifer Schultz both said the problem is long-term and will require higher reimbursement rates, better wages and benefits, and broader workforce strategies, including shared services, more flexible care models, and efforts to recruit new workers into the field. Schultz said the House is looking at increasing reimbursement rates so providers can raise wages and offer benefits such as tuition help, child care, insurance, and retirement support. She noted that Medicaid is jointly funded by the state and federal government, so higher reimbursement rates could draw in federal matching dollars, and said the state should continue investing in home- and community-based services to help people age in place. Both lawmakers also discussed possible housing changes, including multigenerational housing and accessory dwelling units, and Schultz said employers should provide paid leave and other supports for family caregivers to reduce financial strain. The program also covered Senate Republicans’ tax relief proposal and a transportation bill. Republicans announced a plan they described as the largest tax cut in state history, using the state’s $7.7 billion surplus to provide permanent tax relief, lower income tax burdens, and eliminate double taxation of Social Security benefits. Separately, the transportation committee advanced legislation to dedicate sales tax revenue from auto parts and repairs to roads and bridges, with supporters saying it would create stable funding for local road networks, support construction jobs, and help address nearly $25 billion in unmet road and bridge needs over the next 20 years.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: Senators held a press conference and interview focused on Minnesota’s severe staffing crisis in nursing homes, assisted living, group homes, disability services, and home care. Senator Jim Abeler said the system was already fragile before COVID-19 and has since been worsened by illness, business closures, cash-flow problems, and competition from higher-paying jobs, leading to facility closures and tens of thousands of vacancies. He described the situation as urgent for vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities and said the legislature needs to act. The main proposal discussed was a $322 million Senate rescue package. It would provide $1,000 retention bonuses to current workers in eligible facilities, $1,500 bonuses for new workers, and funding for training and uniforms, with the goal of bringing in as many as 20,000 new workers. Abeler said the package is only a short-term fix, but argued it is a necessary start. He also said the committee is exploring longer-term changes such as wage and benefit improvements, workforce flexibilities, shared services, and more comprehensive care models like PACE. Members also discussed broader workforce and demographic challenges, including the aging population, the difficulty of recruiting enough workers, and whether marketing campaigns or other incentives could help. Abeler cited the governor’s earlier CNA recruitment effort as a partial success and said any effective solution will require cooperation among the governor, House, and Senate. The conversation also touched on possible alternatives such as multi-generational housing, greater family responsibility, and expanding group-home capacity in some cases to make services more efficient.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: Representative Jennifer Schultz, chair of the House Human Services Committee, said Minnesota is facing a serious staffing crisis in long-term care and health care, with more than 13,000 job openings that predate the pandemic. She said many providers are limiting admissions and some facilities are closing, and argued the state needs a mix of immediate and long-term solutions to attract and retain workers. Schultz said one-time bonus payments are not a lasting fix. She supported raising reimbursement rates, especially through Medicaid, so providers can use the additional funding to offer higher wages and better benefits such as tuition assistance, child care, insurance, retirement bonuses, and loan repayment. She noted Medicaid is jointly funded by the state and federal government, so higher reimbursement would bring in federal matching dollars rather than relying only on state general-fund spending. On long-term care strategy, Schultz said Minnesota should continue emphasizing aging in place through home- and community-based services, which she said are cheaper than nursing facility care. She pointed to the need for continued investment, including federal funds already received for those services, and suggested Minnesota consider approaches like Washington State’s trust fund model. She also discussed broader supports for family caregivers, including paid time off, tax credits, and financial aid, and said housing policy should better support multigenerational living and accessory dwelling units.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller and Tax Chair Carla Nelson unveiled a Senate Republican tax proposal focused on permanent, ongoing tax relief. They argued that Minnesota’s reported $7.7 billion surplus means the state is collecting too much from taxpayers and said the plan would return money to Minnesotans, especially working families, through lower income taxes and more take-home pay in each paycheck. A major element of the proposal is eliminating what Republicans described as double taxation on Social Security benefits. They said the change would help seniors by reducing taxes on income that had already been taxed when earned. The speakers framed the package as the largest tax cut in state history and emphasized that it would provide immediate and lasting relief rather than a one-time rebate. No votes or formal committee actions were mentioned in the transcript; it was a press-style announcement of the proposal.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee met remotely under Rule 10.01, established a quorum, and approved the February 24 minutes. The main agenda item was a presentation from the Predatory Offender Working Group on Minnesota’s predatory offender registration (POR) system, following earlier work on criminal sexual conduct statutes. Representatives Kelly Moller and Marion O’Neill explained that the CSC working group had led to the POR working group, which for the first time comprehensively studied whether the registry is effective and serving the public as intended. Testimony from the working group co-chairs emphasized that the registry was created after the Jacob Wetterling abduction and now includes more than 18,000 registrants, but that Minnesota’s framework is unusually broad, especially for juveniles and for offenses tied to the “same set of circumstances.” Speakers said the group lacked Minnesota-specific data on how often the registry helps solve crimes, and several urged more study and better data systems before major changes. At the same time, the group reported majority support for several reforms: treating juvenile registrants differently than adults, limiting what offenses restart the 10-year registration period, reducing mandatory minimums for first-time failure-to-register offenses, removing the same-set-of-circumstances link for false imprisonment, creating a petition process for relief from registration, and exploring a more workable reporting method for people without permanent housing. Witnesses also discussed concerns about juvenile registration, with some members arguing that adolescents are developmentally different and should have an avenue to petition off the registry, while law enforcement representatives cautioned against removing too many juveniles and missing higher-risk offenders. Sheriff Troy Heck stressed the registry’s value in cases with unknown suspects and said reforms should preserve law enforcement’s ability to identify the right people. Representative O’Neill also highlighted the small number of juveniles currently on the registry, the difficulty of obtaining data on those who entered as juveniles and later became adults, and the need to study whether extending juvenile stays of adjudication could help keep youth off the registry. Members discussed the testimony but took no further formal action beyond receiving the presentation and opening discussion.

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee met with a quorum, approved the minutes from February 10, 15, 17, and 22, and then heard a presentation from Elizabeth Glidden of the Minnesota Housing Partnership on a report about a “better building code.” Her presentation focused on multifamily buildings, especially four-plus-story properties, and discussed how many affordable units are in that stock, the relationship between housing costs and energy burden, and recommendations to consider direct and indirect impacts of advanced building codes, invest in energy-efficient affordable housing, coordinate resources and expertise, and ensure inclusion of Black, Indigenous, Latino, Asian, and women-owned businesses in related work. Members then discussed energy affordability and whether the committee should focus more on rising energy prices before building-code changes. Chair Long responded that the committee has already held hearings on energy affordability and weatherization, and noted that weatherization can produce direct savings for households. Representative Lee argued that people already facing cost burdens may not be able to afford insulation or renovations and said energy prices should be addressed first. Representative Lee also asked about housing infrastructure bonds and what the report suggests for near-term action; Glidden said the report stays at a high level and points to broader recommendations and other committee and tax-policy tools. The committee then took up informational hearing BE 159 on energy benchmarking for large commercial and multifamily buildings. Chair Long explained the bill would give tenants better information about building energy performance, require the lowest-performing buildings to audit, and provide grants to offset audit costs, without mandating specific upgrades. Testifiers in support included Rabbi Zimmerman, who described major savings and improved comfort at Temple Israel after participating in Minneapolis’s benchmarking program; Katie Jones of the Center for Energy and the Environment, who compared benchmarking to nutrition labels and said it helps owners and tenants make informed decisions; Fresh Energy, which emphasized building emissions and the need for benchmarking to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases; and Kim Havey of Minneapolis, who said the city’s benchmarking program already has high compliance and has helped drive efficiency investments. No vote was taken in the portion of the meeting provided.