Capitol Letter for February 23, 2022

The Capitol Letter™ is a recurring publication that provides reports from LWV Minnesota volunteer Observer Corps and Lobby Corps members on what is happening in the current legislative session.

New District Maps Revealed 

A five-judge panel appointed by the Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court released newly drawn district maps for Minnesota. Neither party can claim substantial victory, and both chambers of the legislature will remain relatively competitive for the foreseeable future. Over two-thirds of Minnesotans will find themselves in new districts; use this article with MPR News to enter your address and find out what your new district information is. Learn more.

“Parents Bill of Rights” Proposed by Senate GOP 

Nationally, Republicans are pushing for educators to be required to share lesson plans and class syllabi with parents. The Minnesota GOP has proposed a package of their own, hoping to limit what schools can teach, particularly around social issues. The package would include bills that would allow parents to seek “alternative instruction” or even leave the school if they don’t approve of the teachings. 

$1 Million for Police Recruitment Ad Campaign 

The Senate passed SF2848, which would allocate $1 million to an ad campaign to recruit more police officers. This comes after police departments across the state saw record numbers of retirements and resignation amid policing controversy. The bill was passed 51–15, and now will have to pass through the DFL-controlled House. Some DFLers have come out against the bill, saying the money could be better used to fund existing programs, and additionally that it is in poor taste and timing after the killing of Amir Locke by police during a no-knock warrant raid earlier this month.

Legalizing Sports Betting on the Horizon 

While Rep. Zack Stephenson (DFL–Coon Rapids) does not have a bill drafted just yet, he is optimistic as he has conversations with lawmakers of both parties. Sports betting is legal in 29 states, following the Supreme Court decision Murphy v. NCAA in 2018 that allowed states to make their own rules on its legality. Governor Tim Walz is open to the idea, but mentioned the hurdle of tribal agreements. The Minnesota Indian Gaming Association is open to having discussions and negotiations with lawmakers.

Climate Change 

Walz administration suspends Twin Metals 

The DNR has stopped their environmental review of Twin Metals and said their staff has redirected their attention to higher-priority projects. Twin Metals issued their own statement, saying the pause is necessary and is continuing to fight to defend their project in the court and will challenge the lease cancellation. The project is unpopular with environmental advocates, being only 350 square miles from the Boundary Waters, which could contaminate the water and “unique and fragile ecosystem”, as Save the Boundary Waters National Chairwoman Becky Rom put it. 

New round of PFAS bills 

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, were banned from being used in food packaging last legislative session. This year, Rep. Ami Wazlawik (DFL–White Bear Lake) wants to extend the ban to additional products, including cosmetics, cookware, and ski wax. Wazlawik told the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance Committee that her package of bills would eliminate PFAS unnecessary use in products to limit consumer exposure. While the bills have passed their first round of hurdles, they are expected to face opposition from chemical manufacturers, citing the bills being too broad. Industry workers and Republicans would rather see these bans and regulation come from the federal level.  

Aid coming to farmers affected by 2021 drought 

The Minnesota House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee voted unanimously to pass nearly $10 million to create grants and give out loans for farmers in areas of Minnesota that were most affected by the historic drought last year. HF3598 is authored by Rep. Mike Sundin (DFL–Esko), who says while it’s not enough to cover farmer’s expenses all around, it should help those who faced additional expenses due to the drought. Under the proposal, $5 million would go to the Rural Finance Authority to fund drought relief loans and the other $5 million would go to the Department of Agriculture to issue $10,000 grants for livestock producers and specialty farmers. The Walz administration is working to bring a similar proposal to law and farmers could expect to see their first round of checks in early April. 

Peat soil found to release greenhouse gasses 

The carbon-packed peat soil is Minnesota’s fourth largest contributor to our greenhouse gas emissions, emitting nearly 11 million tons in 2018. These findings come as a surprise to researchers and lawmakers, who did not expect to see the emissions to be so high. The unexpected influence of peat soil has also brought controversy on what to do about this issue. Conservation groups favor removing the land from production in order to restore natural wetlands. Other, more conservative approaches include fine-tuning fertilizer application, adding cover crops and switching to lower-impact crops, and reducing tilling. 

Racial Justice 

“Colorblind” treatment won’t promote racial justice 

The Minnesota Department of Health announced last week that race is no longer considered on the scoring system that determines what patients should receive monoclonal antibody treatments. Months ago, the FDA declared it “ethically appropriate” to prioritize racial minorities for monoclonal antibody infusions. This decision was made after comparing COVID-19 hospitalization and infection rates across different ethnicities. In Minnesota, Black people make up only 6% of our population but accounted for 11% of COVID-19 hospitalizations. White Minnesotans are 80% of our population, but are hospitalized in a far smaller proportion. The equity-based approach has the hopes of recognizing that each person and community have different circumstances, and it allocates resources depending on these circumstances to create a more equitable outcome. 

Ending no-knock warrants clears House committee 

The push for ending no-knock warrants comes the same week as Amir Locke’s funeral, a Black man killed by Minneapolis police during a no-knock warrant raid. HF3398 would substantially limit no-knock warrants only when there is great, imminent harm. Critics of the bill say there is no use in limiting a tool that is already rarely used but still a necessary tool. Police accountability and racial justice advocates gathered at the Capitol news conference to demonstrate the urgency of the decision. Advocates are optimistic with the bill but say more still needs to be done. 

House Ways and Means Committee Hearing 

Submitted by LWVMN Policy Intern Hibo Ahmed 

In 2020, the Minnesota House passed a resolution declaring racism to be a public health crisis in the state. It passed by a vote of 82 to 40. The select committee issued a 2020 report, laying out dozens of recommendations for closing the gaps in income, employment, education, healthcare, housing and criminal justice. In Monday’s hearing, Rep. Moran (DFL–St. Paul) released an updated report that included more information, progress in several areas and future opportunities such as public housing, safety and education. The CEO of Model Cities of St. Paul, Kizzy Downie, discussed future housing opportunities such as dedicating 5% of the state's investment portfolio to BIPOC real estate development projects and dismantling discriminatory housing practices. BIPOC students in Minnesota continue to suffer educational disparities as they are consistently left behind by the nation's biggest opportunity gap. As Minneapolis public school funding is expected to increase in fiscal year 2022–2023, there is a chance that additional funding will be allocated to benefit BIPOC students' education. With police killings and traffic stop searches, racial disparities in Minneapolis public safety continue to grow. There has been a growing interest in decriminalizing cannabis and providing trauma-informed training to help families impacted by violence and hate crimes. Ultimately, the State budget adopted in 2021 illustrates what is possible when legislators choose to make decisions with equity in mind. 

Observer Reports 

SF2964 & SF2965 - Law Enforcement Workforce Expansion 

Submitted by LWVMN Observer Corps member Cathy Thom 

SF2964 is authored by Sen. John Jasinski (R–Faribault), which will allocate workforce development scholarships expansion and appropriation to include law enforcement. Additionally, law enforcement students get double the award amounts as other qualifying categories (advanced manufacturing, health care services, IT, early childhood, transportation).

Richard Watkins and his law enforcement students from Riverland Community College (RCC) testified in favor of the bill. Students were male and female, most from MN, but several from out of state. Rising costs can be offset with these scholarships and help with female, minority, and low-income student recruitment and retention. RCC partners with Rochester Community & Technical College (RCTC) to provide law enforcement skills training during the last of four semesters, and RCTC charges its own separate fee for that training.

Brent Bradley (Instructor) and Tyler Rooney (Student) from Hibbing Community College also testified in favor of the bill. Both said that both cost and negative publicity for law enforcement over the past several years has contributed to declining enrollment—down 50% this year from the norm. But these scholarships would at least alleviate the financial barriers for those who do wish to pursue law enforcement careers. HCC embeds its skills training into its own program.

SF 2964 was laid over.

S.F. 2965 is authored by Sen. Justin Eichorn (R–Grand Rapids) in which a grant program will be established for students pursuing law enforcement degrees allowing for $6,000 for associate degrees and $12,000 for bachelor’s degrees. The original was for half these amounts, but Sen. Aric Putnam (DFL–St. Cloud) offered an amendment doubling the amounts, saying more was needed given average 2-year ($6,000) and 4-year ($9,000) tuition for MN schools that offer law enforcement degrees. His amendment was passed by a bipartisan, unanimous voice vote.

Tonya Gladley, a St. Thomas University Law Enforcement Coordinator, testified that cost is a major barrier for students pursuing law enforcement degrees, particularly minority and low-income students. This is especially true for programs like St. Thomas that do not offer skills training on site and students must seek and pay for it separately. This cost can be $4,000 or more—especially if a student needs housing during the multi-week training.

The Amended SF2965 was laid for inclusion in an omnibus bill or for consideration for general orders (at the suggestion of Sen. Greg Clausen (DFL–Apple Valley) as soon as possible. There was strong support for it to be pushed to general orders as soon as possible, but it is laid over for now.

SF1012 - Digital Well-Being Bill

Submitted by LWVMN Observer Corps Member Cathy Thom:

The Senate Education Finance & Policy hearing on 02/07/2022 to hear a presentation from LiveMore ScreenLess. The impact of technology on young people resulted in the bipartisan Digital Well-Being Bill passage last year during the special session. Funding was awarded to LiveMoreScreenLess (which has worked on Digital Well Being with Faribault Schools since 2019), and extends through 2025. Four major projects are under state grant:
1. Online library of resources for parents, educators, and students
2. Network of communication with other organizations
3. Train the Trainer series
4. Peer-inspired education and leadership program for digital well-being 

Funds were received in the fall of 2021, staff has been hired and draft programs have been written. The meeting was mainly about introducing the staff they’ve hired and have not had much to report of substance.