St. Paul, MN - Tuesday, the Minnesota House of Representatives approved the State Government Finance and Elections Committee’s bill, 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 also contains improvements to Minnesota’s state pensions plan.
Rep. Andrew Carlson (DFL-Bloomington), Vice-Chair of the State Government Finance and Elections Committee, released this statement:
“Some of the most significant investments in this legislation are dedicated to the modernizing and securing of the state’s software IT systems and cybersecurity and puts resources where they’re needed most, sending a clear message that we take security seriously. The bill increases protections for our election officials who have faced unprecedented levels of threats and hostility and criminalizes threatening and harassing conduct. This legislation builds on investments to modernize state government and strengthens our democracy.”
Some of the most significant investments in the committee’s bill are dedicated to expenditures necessary for the modernization and security of the state’s software and IT systems, including $12 million to the Revisor’s Office to upgrade software, $12.4 million to MNIT to improve the resilience of state technology, $10.18 million for cybersecurity, and $7.28 million to stabilize and sustain the state’s enterprise resource planning systems.
The investments related to elections provide a $200,000 appropriation, which is required to secure an additional $1 million in federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) election funds allocated to Minnesota by Congress this year. Other elections provisions include updates to expand the security and integrity of absentee ballots while also allowing them to be counted 14 days prior to an election rather than the current 7, and protections for election officials, who have faced unprecedented levels of threats and hostility during recent cycles.
Other notable components in the legislation focus on government transparency and accessibility, including a ban on lobbyist social clubs and updates to campaign financial disclosures. There is also $250,000 to support accessible technology, $150,000 for enterprise language access services, and the establishment of the Office of Enterprise Translation Services to make legislative materials more accessible.
Additional policy components of the legislation include a study of the Minnesota Statutes to determine compliance with the federal Equal Rights Amendment, adding Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples’ Day as annual state holidays, creating a legislative task force on aging, and establishing a commission to develop, design, and recommend to the legislature a new official state flag and seal. The existing flag and seal would be retired May 11, 2023.
Hardworking public service workers in Minnesota deserve economic security as they build their earnings to establish a secure pension. House DFLers are improving Minnesota’s state pension plan by increasing the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) by 2.5% and investing a historic $390 million directly into our pension plans as part of the DFL’s commitment to state employees.
A summary of the bill can be found here, and a spreadsheet of the State Government appropriations can be found here. More information on state pensions is available here. Video of today’s floor debate can be found on the House Public Information YouTube channel.
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