Stay at Home Order Ends; Plans to Reopen

Minnesota House GOP sent this bulletin at 05/15/2020 03:30 PM CDT

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May 15, 2020

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Thanks to the thousands of Minnesotans who called, emailed, wrote to Governor Walz, letting him know that Minnesotans could be trusted to safely get back to work. Due to this, Gov. Walz announced he was lifting the state's Stay at Home order effective Monday, and would be laying out plans to allow the reopening of restaurants, churches, and other businesses with a goal of allowing them to open by June 1st.

Unfortunately, many restaurants, salons, and other businesses, which have been planning for weeks to reopen, have been told they need to wait until June 1. This was disappointing — if businesses currently have a plan to safely operate, they should be able to do so. We need to trust our fellow Minnesotans.

I will continue to work to lend my voice to the fight to safely reopen every business in our state. Please do not hesitate to reach out if I can be of any assistance.

Governor's Executive Orders

To make these changes, Governor Walz issued four executive orders.Brief descriptions from the Governor's office and links to the orders are available here:

• Executive Order 20-53 strongly encourages Minnesotans at greatest risk of serious illness to continue staying home. mnhouse.gop/3fLGVOb

• Executive Order 20-54 ensures workers can raise concerns regarding the safety of their work environments without fear of discrimination or retaliation. It also protects workers from loss of income if they refuse to work under unsafe or unhealthy conditions. mnhouse.gop/3dJYSeg

• Executive Order 20-55: When the Stay Home MN order ends on May 18, the Governor announced today that he will be replacing it with a new order that brings back more social interactions. Titled “Stay Safe MN,” Minnesotans are still asked to stay close to home and limit travel to what is essential. But the order allows gatherings with friends and family in groups of 10 or less with social distancing. In all cases, Minnesotans are asked not to gather in large groups. All gatherings are limited to 10 and social distancing with masks, hand-washing and other safety measures should be followed to protect each other. mnhouse.gop/3brPESd

• Executive Order 20-56: An additional executive order announced today will allow retail stores, malls, and main street businesses to reopen for in-person shopping as long as they have a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan in place that incorporates social distancing protocols for workers and customers and limits occupancy to no more than 50 percent of the establishment’s occupant capacity. The Department of Employment & Economic Development (DEED) estimates that this action will enable up to 37,000 more workers to safely return to work over the next several weeks. Additional guidance, including a template plan and checklist for businesses, is available on DEED’s website at mn.gov/deed/safework mnhouse.gop/2LrYa9u

Wineries & Agrotourism Push to Open

On Tuesday, I went to Sovereign Estate Wine in Waconia where they collected over 8200 signatures in three days to send to the governor asking him to allow them to open up, I’ll helped to deliver those to the Governor both electronically and on paper to his offices.

Our message to Governor Walz was simple: these wineries are equipped to operate safely in this time of social distancing, they have a plan to do so, and it is urgent as the reality of Minnesota's climate means there simply aren't that many great weather days for our agrotourism industry.

If you’d like to add your name to the petition click here.

Elections Bill & Absentee Request Link

This week, the governor signed a bipartisan elections bill. This bill went through some shenanigans along the way but I was proud to help steer it in the right direction. We ultimately we arrived at a bill that passed both bodies of the legislature with broad, bipartisan support. One of the things we pushed back against was the unnecessary move to expand mail balloting due to COVID-19.

As a reminder, every eligible Minnesota voter can already vote from the comfort of their own home. The portal to request your ballot from the Secretary of State's website went live this week for both the 2020 Primary and General elections.

You can now request your ballot at the Secretary of State's website here.

THANK YOU Frontline Workers Flyover!

Minnesota Air National Guard did a fly over in Waconia with two C-130’s to honor frontline workers and those keeping people safe! They were low, loud and wonderful!

Please Contact Me

Please feel free to reach out to my office if there is any way I can be of assistance. My phone number is 651-296-4282, I am here to serve you!

Have a great weekend!

Jim

/RepJimNash

349 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.4282

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