Legislative Update: Budget Bills & May Coffee Hours

Minnesota House DFL sent this bulletin at 05/12/2022 02:08 PM CDT

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Dear Neighbors,

I hope this finds you well and enjoying the quick transition from spring to summer. Our work continues in the House. We’ve advanced our supplemental budget proposals in the following areas:

Now the work of conference committees has begun. A group of five representatives and five senators are meeting to sort differences between both versions of bills to find areas of compromise. We are constitutionally required to adjourn by May 23, so much work remains ahead of us to bridge these differences. I remain cautiously optimistic the legislature can make the most of this historic $9.25 billion surplus.

Veterans Bill Passes

The governor recently signed into law the compromise Veterans & Military Affairs finance bill following a bipartisan agreement with the House and Senate. This bill invests significant new funding to address veterans homelessness, provides additional funding for Minnesota’s new veterans homes, and offers service bonuses to those who served during the post-9/11 Global War on Terror. You can read more about what we’re doing for veterans from the nonpartisan office of House Public Information Services here.

Frontline Pay Becomes Law

If you worked 120 hours from March 15, 2020 to June 30, 2021, you may be eligible to receive a worker bonus check for your in-person work during the early days of the pandemic.

Following a bipartisan compromise, Governor Walz has signed a bill into law providing $500 million worth of bonus payments for frontline workers including health care workers, first responders, child care providers, food service and retail workers, and more. Workers can sign up to receive notifications about updates at frontlinepay.mn.gov. Once the application process opens – a few weeks from now – workers will have 45 days to apply. A full FAQ document, including eligibility information, is available here. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions.

May Coffee Hours

I hope you can join me and our neighbors this Saturday for virtual community coffee hour at 9:00 a.m. You can RSVP to receive the Zoom link and information with Isabel by emailing her at Isabel.anderson@house.mn. With less than 10 days ahead of adjournment, I’d love to hear from you about what’s a key priority for you.

If you can’t make it this Saturday, I’ll be hosting an in-person coffee hour on May 28^th at 9:00 a.m. at Dunn Bros in Apple Valley (15265 Galaxie Ave). As always, our format is casual and everyone is welcome to attend and share their perspectives and questions.

Keep in Touch

Even if you can’t attend the coffee hours to share your input, I’m always available via email or phone. You can reach me at rep.robert.bierman@house.mn or 651-296-5506.

I appreciate hearing from you! You’re welcome to follow me on my Facebook page for additional updates.

Have a great weekend,

Robert Bierman
State Representative

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