Legislative Update - February 14th, 2024

Dear Neighbors,

Session is off to a busy start! The House convened on Monday, February 12th to begin our business for 2024. This year we will focus on delivering investments in projects to boost local economies and policy changes to improve the livelihoods of middle and working class Minnesotans.

As a reminder, caucuses will be held on February 27th, 2024. You can find your caucus location on the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website.

New Laws

After a historic session in 2023, many new laws went into effect on July 1st and August 1st, 2023, and January 1st 2024. The nonpartisan office of House Public Information has a summary of the new laws here:

• July 1st
• August 1st
• January 1st

Child Tax Credit

With our nation leading Child Tax Credit, families will save up to $1,750 for each dependent. Democrats are cutting child poverty by  one third with this rebate. You can claim the tax credit by filing a 2023 income tax return. The $1,750 credit is for each child 17 years old and younger, with no limit on the number of children. For all tax filers, this credit begins to phase out at an income level of $35,000 and fully phases out at a maximum of $90,750 for a family with four children.

Hearing on End of Life Options

The House Health and Finance held a public hearing on HF1930, a bill to establish end-of-life options for terminally ill adults. The bill, known as the End-of-Life Options Act, is modeled after an Oregon law which allows adults who are diagnosed with a terminal illness and determined to be of sound mind to be prescribed life-ending medication, usually to be taken at home. In the states that have enacted these bills none of the feared negative unintended consequences have come to pass. You can watch the hearing here.

New Flag and State Seal

As you probably know Minnesota will have a new flag and state seal. The eight point star is taken from the star at the center of the rotunda floor in the Capitol and has special significance in both Native American and Scandinavian cultures. In my opinion these are both major upgrades over our previous flag and seal which were both problematic and unappealing. I want to thank the selection committee who led a transparent and effective process. While the legislature could vote to overturn the current design, this would be highly unlikely. I look forward to seeing our new flag fly!

Crime Down Across MN, New Gun Laws

New data shows that crime has dropped across Minnesota in every major category. As we move past a pandemic era spike I will continue to support laws and funding that improve public safety, like last year when I voted for record funding in law enforcement and community intervention strategies.

Gun violence remains too high, however there are two new laws that went into effect this month that will help. The laws will implement improved criminal background checks and extreme risk protection orders to ensure that guns stay out of the hands of those who would cause harm. I look forward to supporting future gun violence prevention efforts this upcoming session.

EV Rebates

Last session we passed an Electric Vehicle Rebate Program allowing residents to receive a rebate of up to $2,500 for a new EV purchase and $600 for a used purchase. Electric cars, plug-ins or hybrids purchased or leased on or after May 25, 2023 are eligible. The application process goes live on February 7th, and you can find more information at https://mn.gov/evrebates.

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.kaela.berg@house.mn.gov or call (651) 296-5387. For more regular updates, you can subscribe to these regular legislative updates if you haven’t already, here, and you can also “like” and follow my official State Representative Facebook page.

Sincerely,

Kaela Berg

State Representative