Legislative Update - February 24, 2023

Dear Neighbors,

Progress!

We recently passed two bills to improve access to affordable child care and early learning centers. Parents have been talking for years about the growing unaffordability of child care, which has caused many parents to forgo further education or employment. Since the pandemic, we have seen many parents struggle to get back into the workforce because they can’t afford or find adequate child care. 

Every family deserves access to affordable child care, but some of our neighbors are paying as much as 40% of their income. These votes will help parents pursue employment and education and ensure children are well cared for and prepared to enter school.

Next, the House passed Earned Sick and Safe Time for every Minnesotan. Many workers are still forced to make an impossible choice between earning a paycheck and taking time off to care for themselves. People who lack access to paid time off are disproportionately in low-wage positions, women, and members of BIPOC communities. Passing this bill will help address Minnesota’s unacceptable racial inequities. The legislation would ensure at least one hour of paid Earned Sick and Safe Time for every 30 hours worked, up to at least 48 hours per year.

Then on Monday, we passed a slate of bills that will make Minnesota a safer and more welcoming state. We passed a ban on conversion ‘therapy’ for children and vulnerable adults, we passed a bill to establish The Office of Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls, and we passed a bill to curb catalytic converter theft. I was proud to support all of these bills and to see the House continue to move effectively and efficiently to improve the lives of all Minnesotans.

My bills

Since the 2023 session began, I’ve passed five bills off the House floor with unanimous bipartisan support!

We passed HF 42, which updates our labor trafficking definitions and enhances penalties in labor trafficking scenarios where the victim is under the age of 18, the trafficking occurs for an extended period of time, or the victim suffers great bodily harm or death. This bill addresses some glaring holes in our existing statutes that enable perpetrators to evade the law. Undocumented workers are particularly vulnerable under existing laws and will be better protected due to these updates. You can watch my House floor speech here.

HF 43 puts Minnesota in conformity with federal guidelines when it comes to sentencing gross misdemeanors. This small change will be incredibly meaningful in terms of creating clarity and consistency within our legal systems and ensuring that the collateral immigration consequences of gross misdemeanors in Minnesota are intentional. This bill passed with unanimous support! You can watch my House floor speech here.

On Monday, we passed HF 45. Since 2021, many veterans have had positive outcomes from the incentives created by The Veterans Restorative Justice Act, including professional mentorship, support, and treatments for post-traumatic stress, addiction, and domestic violence. This legal clarification says that if former or current military members can provide a connection between a service-related trauma or injury, at that point, they can choose a restorative sentencing path and are not required to enter a plea. And another unanimous vote!

I’m continuing to work with community members and advocates to introduce legislation! As I headed out for the legislative snow days, I “dropped” the bill jackets for legislation I’m working on in conjunction with the Friends of the Boundary Waters and the University of Minnesota’s Water Council to create a 50-year clean water plan for Minnesota. This bill will ensure that we thoughtfully and proactively protect our precious natural resources, and I’m really excited about it. It’s very “science-y.” Stay tuned for updates!

I also recently introduced legislation to combat wage theft in Minnesota in collaboration with the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters. HF 1859 will shift the burden of preventing wage theft from vulnerable workers to the general contractors who have full control over the worksite. Further, it can proactively prevent sub-contractors from engaging in typical forms of wage theft such as misclassification, undercounting of hours, and paying workers in cash less than they are owed. This is a crucial step to prevent vulnerable construction workers whose industry is particularly subject to wage theft in Minnesota. You can read about the type of business model the bill seeks to prevent here.

Also of note was a bill presentation I made on Monday to the Commerce Committee on HF 156, which was a negotiated deal 20 years in the making between residents of manufactured housing communities and the park owners. This bill finally provides protections and consistency in how park owners pass along the cost of utilities to residents. I’m very excited about this bill and want to celebrate the many decades of hard work, conversations, and advocacy that went into getting this bill to this point. This year I'm optimistic that it finally passes!

Stay in Touch

If you have questions, ideas, or feedback that you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Email me at rep.sandra.feist@house.mn.gov or call (651) 296-4331. Also, you can follow my official State Representative Facebook Page.

Sincerely,  

Sandra Feist  

State Representative