Legislative Update: Focus on Families

Dear Neighbors,

Today marks the third legislative deadline. All session, House DFLers have focused on the challenges faced by hardworking families and have crafted legislation to focus on improving family budgets. This week, many of our supplemental budget bills were approved in committee and will be heard on the House floor after our Easter/Passover break concludes.

Our State Government Finance and Elections Committee, of which I serve as vice chair, advanced our budget, made up of proposals from legislators to finance a variety of state agencies, boards, and constitutional offices. Also included in the legislation are provisions to continue and strengthen Minnesota’s exemplary record of free, fair, and accessible elections. The bill invests in modernizing technology to better serve all Minnesotans. We take security seriously and this bill puts resources where they are needed most: to protect our elections and improve Minnesota’s technological infrastructure now and into the future. You can read more here.

Reducing Costs for Minnesotans

This week, House Democrats announced a new plan to reduce the cost of Minnesotans’ biggest expenses, including child care, housing, and prescription medications. The plan targets assistance to people who need it most, including workers, families, senior citizens, and those with chronic health conditions. 

Avian Influenza

The Minnesota House has voted to invest $1 million in the state’s response to H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Minnesota. The funding will be used for testing supplies and other emergency response activities, including disease surveillance.

The first cases of H5N1 in Minnesota were confirmed last month. The USDA updates the latest HPAI detections on its website. Listen to this MPR story.

The virus has not caused human illness and poses a low risk to the public. You can read more from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture or the Board of Animal Health. If you have backyard chickens, more information is available here from the U of M Extension.

The state has activated a new HPAI hotline for anyone with poultry to ask questions or for anyone to report sick birds at 1-833-454-0156.

Energy Assistance

The Minnesota Department of Commerce has raised the Minnesota Energy Assistance Program crisis benefit per household. Income-qualified homeowners or renters can now receive up to $3,000 to pay past-due energy bills, to prevent energy disconnections, and to cover costs for emergency fuel deliveries. Previously, the crisis benefit was $1,200. The grant is in addition to the up-to-$2,000 in non-crisis benefits a qualifying house receives.  

COVID-19 Update

The FDA has authorized a second booster shot for Americans over 50 and for those 12 years and older who are immunocompromised. You can read more from the U of M Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) recommendations here.

Minnesota households are now eligible to receive two test kits (for a total of four tests) per home through the mail at mn.gov/covid19. You can also order free rapid at-home tests from the federal government at CovidTests.gov.

If you have symptoms, have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, after traveling, or if you’ve attended a high-risk event, get tested to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Stay in touch

The Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services offers nonpartisan recaps of high-profile bills, committee hearings, and floor sessions with their Session Daily publication. Subscribe to receive these here. To track bills of interest through the legislative process, I encourage you to utilize the MyBills feature on the Minnesota House of Representatives’ website here.  

You can stay up to date on our work by subscribing to these legislative updates and “liking” my official Facebook page. For any questions you have on the resources available to our community or our work in the Minnesota House, you can reach me at rep.andrew.carlson@house.mn or leave a voicemail at (651) 296-4218. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Andrew Carlson 

State Representative