Neighbors,
On Tuesday night, the Minnesota House passed my bill to increase transparency for renters and even the playing field between tenants and landlords. The bipartisan bill would increase renter protections and amend requirements to ensure greater lease transparency.
Students, low-income individuals, and immigrants are disproportionately impacted by housing policies that are designed to favor landlords over renters. Stable housing is fundamental to living a productive, affordable life. This consumer protection measure will bring much-needed transparency to the housing market.
The bill would require landlords to disclose the unit being rented; require the lease start and end dates be put on the first page of a lease; prevent a tenant from getting charged a full month's rent when they are required to move out before the month has ended; and prohibit landlords from providing less notice to quit the premises, or increase rent, than the amount of time the lease allows the tenant to provide notice of an intention to quit the premises.
You can read more here.
Increase Teachers of Color Act
Yesterday I presented, alongside aspiring teachers of color, a comprehensive bill to increase diversity in our teaching workforce. This is a comprehensive bill that will help close opportunity and achievement gaps by establishing a Teacher Candidates of Color scholarship program.
Students deserve to have diverse role models, yet it is fairly well known that 34 percent of Minnesota’s students are students of color or indigenous students, yet only 4 percent of teachers in classrooms are TOCAIT. This bill will help address those disparities.
Major House Bills
Each House finance committee is announcing throughout this week and next which bills will be included in the package of bills they pass all together (called an omnibus bill). Here’s a rundown of some of the major components in the omnibus bills that have been announced so far:
- The Health and Human Services Committee announced a proposal to lower the cost of health care, address the rising cost of prescription drug prices, increase the quality of coverage, and give patients and their doctors more power over their care.
- The Early Childhood Committee announced a bill that would make permanent the School Readiness Plus program – preserving access to preschool for 4,000 children; increase investment in early learning scholarships, with a focus on birth to age three; and prevent suspension and expulsion of children from preschool programs.
- The Veterans and Military Affairs Committee announced a bill that would address veteran homelessness, increase veteran programs and services, and provide ongoing funding for reintegration programs for deployed service members.
- The Transportation Committee announced a bill that prioritizes better access to transit for Minnesotans who need to get to work, school, the doctor’s office, and engage in civic life. It will fund investments for our roads and bridges. The American Society of Civil Engineers rated Minnesota’s roads as “D+” on their most recent infrastructure report card. Bridges received a “C” and transit was awarded a “C-.” Because of this, the average Minnesotans loses an average of $1,000 each year due to car repairs and lost time. Unless we make these investments, it will only get worse.
Constituent Shout-out
Thank you to the U of M students who came to the Capitol today to fight for affordable tuition, renter protections and equity in education! It’s my honor to represent and fight for you.
 
As always, feel free to reach out my calling, sending an email, or stopping by the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Mohamud Noor
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