Legislative Update 8.7.23

Dear Neighbors, 

I hope you’re staying cool, and having a fun and safe summer. It’s been great to be back in our community after this year’s productive legislative session, and now we’re starting to already see our efforts begin to pay off!

On July 1st, many of the new laws we passed this year went into effect, with more doing the same on August 1st. This includes our new state budget for the next two years and many policies and investments that our community has been waiting for.

One new law making a lot of headlines in the legalization of adult-use cannabis, which went into effect on August 1st. You can find the basics of the new law below:

For our other new laws, you can read a snapshot of some of the more higher profile ones here, based on their inaction date:

• New Laws Implemented on July 1
• New Laws Implemented on August 1

The Pathway Home Act & Supporting Local Shelters

Another new law already impacting our community is the Pathway Home Act, a bill of mine which addresses the issues we need to take on to curb youth homelessness in our state. I’m extremely proud of this new law, and the advocates from our community and around the state that made it a reality. 

Thanks to our efforts, among other benefits, places like Churches United are now able to implement an overdue $2-an-hour raise for their frontline workers, better ensuring that we’re able to staff these shelters and support the Minnesotans who work there.

The new law’s investments include:

• $100 million for shelter construction and rehabilitation of existing facilities.
• $90 million for support services and operations and maintenance costs for shelters and centers.
• $12 million for deeply affordable transitional housing that homeless people can stay in for up to 36 months.
• $60 million for the Homeless Youth Act to support outreach and services for unaccompanied youth.
• $12 million for Safe Harbor that supports victims of sex trafficking.

The legislation is part of our larger Children and Families Budget, which in total invested over $1 billion of new money in the state’s youngest Minnesotans and their families. More information on this budget can be found here. 

The Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act

Last month, I had the opportunity to sit down with my colleague Rep. Emma Greenman, who represents part of Minneapolis, to discuss this year’s passage of the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act - a bill of mine to codify the federal Indian Child Welfare Act into state law. You can watch our conversation below:

Earlier this summer, the US Supreme Court upheld the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, meaning the Act will continue to shelter Native children from unjust separation from their families and protect tribes from the devastation of losing connection to the next generation.

Renovating Weld Hall

We passed a historic amount of investments for improving our infrastructure this year, whether that was for roads, parks, pipes, or Minnesota State buildings like MSU Moorhead’s Weld Hall.

I visited Weld Hall back in 2021 when our Capital Investment Committee was first considering it for state investment, and last month I was able to return with Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan to celebrate the renovations that’ll be taking place soon! 

Officers Required to Carry Naloxone

Another new law that went into effect on August 1 requires all on-duty police in the state to carry two doses of Naloxone, also known as Narcan, and be trained on using it.

Moorhead is the only city in the State of Minnesota that does not provide law enforcement officers with Narcan. I’m grateful for all of the community members who have been working hard at the local level to enact this policy change. Your stories and voices inspired action at the state level, and your advocacy is going to save lives here in Moorhead.

According to data from the Minnesota Department of Health, opioid-involved overdose deaths among Minnesotans increased 43% from 2020 to 2021, and the number of deaths has more than doubled since 2019. In 2021, Indigenous people were ten times as likely to die from a drug overdose than white Minnesotans. Black Minnesotans were more than three times as likely to die from drug overdose than white Minnesotans. 

Stay Connected

Even though we’re in the legislative interim, please continue to reach out with any questions or comments you have on our work. You can reach my office at rep.heather.keeler@house.mn.gov or 651-296-5515. You can also follow my Facebook page. 

In community, 

Rep. Heather Keeler

Minnesota House of Representatives