Legislative Update - A Labor-Friendly State

Dear Neighbors,

Being a labor-friendly state with a labor-friendly Governor means involving labor when important decisions are being made. That didn't happen this week when unilateral changes were made to the state's telework policy.

When decisions are being made that drastically alter workers' lives, they deserve a seat at the table - that's why I stood with labor leaders and state workers this week.

Decisions that impact thousands of workers who serve Minnesota should not be made lightly. You can read more about the stand workers are taking here.

Investing in Housing

This week in our Capital Investment Committee, when the DFL held the gavel, we focused the entire hearing on housing. A lot of attention can be given to stadiums and other big-budget projects, but some of the most life-changing work our committee can do is help fund the creation and preservation of homes so more Minnesotans have a place to lay their heads at night.

As the DFL Vice Chair, I spent some time chairing the committee, but I also took a moment to present my own bill, House File 1709. This bill would provide $4 million for the Greater Minnesota Housing Infrastructure grant program, which is aimed at helping communities address their workforce housing needs. Grants provide cities and counties with up to 50% of capital costs for public infrastructure needed for workforce housing development projects. These may be single-family or multifamily projects and can be either owner-occupied or rental.

If you’re interested, you can watch our committee hearing here. 

Protecting Medicaid

As a member of the House’s Human Services Finance and Policy Committee, I’ve seen how important Medicaid is for our state, and for the lives of thousands of Minnesotans. It’s incredibly interconnected in how we care for people. In last week’s update, I went over several bills I’m working on to support substance abuse disorder treatment, and Medicaid reimbursements were a huge part of that.

All of this is to say I’m extremely troubled by the plan from Congressional Republicans and President Trump to gut Medicaid funding in order to subsidize tax cuts for the extremely wealthy. That’s why I joined several colleagues in co-authoring the “Protect Medicaid, Not Millionaires” Act. 

Our plan simply states that if funding is going to be stripped away from Medicaid, we’re going to build it back up with the tax breaks these millionaires are getting. I’m happy to see alternative plans from my Republican colleagues, but this is not an issue where we can stick our heads in the sand and do nothing. 

Improving Direct Care and Treatment

I also presented several bills in the Human Services Committee this week, all of which are focused on improving Minnesota’s Department of Direct Care and Treatment, which serves people with mental illness, substance abuse disorders, and developmental and intellectual disabilities.

• HF 2187 provides policy updates to The Department of Direct Care and Treatment, which serves over 12,000 civilly committed patients and clients annually. Services are delivered by more than 5,000 employees at more than 150 sites statewide.
• HF 2586 extends the deadline for Priority Admissions to provide some flexibility to our treatment system, and establishes a Review Panel to ensure our Direct Care and Treatment programs are the best they can be.
• HF 2037 establishes the Commissioner Structure to replace the Direct Care and Treatment Board, making it similar to how other state agencies run.

If you’re interested in watching the committee hearing these bills, you can watch it here. Session Daily provided a nonpartisan article on HF 2037, which you can read here. 

Stay Connected

With session underway, the Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services will once again be offering 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. You can also visit my House of Representatives website.

Thank you to everyone that came out for our incredible Town Hall! We had a packed house and people made their voices heard! It's an honor to represent such an engaged community.

Regardless of whether you were able to join us last weekend, always feel free to reach out to my office with any questions, comments, or ideas you may have. I always appreciate hearing from you!

You can send an email to rep.luke.frederick@house.mn.gov or call me at (651) 296-3248. Also, please visit and “like” my Facebook page for more Capitol and community updates.

Thank you for the privilege of representing you in the legislature.

Sincerely, 

Luke Frederick

State Representative