ST. PAUL 鈥� Legislators in the Minnesota Senate and House this week passed several bills out of their chambers. Lawmakers also pitched some new legislation aimed at adding warnings on social media platforms, supporting children of disabled vets, and cutting state spending by reducing funding for transportation projects and undocumented immigrants.
College tuition aid for children of disabled veterans
On Tuesday, March 18, the House Higher Education Finance Committee advanced a bill to fund higher education compensation for children of veterans with disabilities.
ADVERTISEMENT
The bill, , authored by Rep. Mary Frances Clardy, DFL-Inver Grove Heights, would give free college tuition to, and cover costs of fees and textbooks for children of veterans who are 100% disabled. Allocations would be based on the final cost after subtracting state and federal grants, scholarships and financial aid.
"Investing in the education of children of disabled veterans is not just a benefit; it's a recognition of the sacrifices made,鈥� Clardy said in a press release. 鈥滻鈥檓 grateful for my constituents bringing the idea forward. It's an acknowledgment that these military families have already paid a heavy price and that we, as a collective society, have a responsibility to ensure their future is not limited by those sacrifices."
Alan Garske, a twenty-year U.S. Navy veteran who has with four children and lives on a fixed income, said in the press release that this bill would help all veterans.
鈥淚 am a 100% disabled veteran because I was in the Navy for 20 years defending our country to its fullest,鈥� Garske said. 鈥淚 am married with four children, and they will be college age coming up soon. This is an investment not only to help me but for all veterans who are at 100% disability.鈥�
Cutting funding for immigrants, transportation
On Monday, Senate Republicans presented a package of eight bills focused on reducing funding for transportation projects, prohibiting state services to undocumented immigrants and preventing possible future waste.
Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said at Monday鈥檚 press conference that Gov. Tim Walz鈥檚 from January has proposed 鈥減ainful鈥� cuts to disability care and special education, but that his caucus will be taking a different approach.
Johnson said after the press conference that the bills provide a 鈥渟mall sample鈥� of what Senate Republicans may aim to cut in a budget proposal, which is due in early April.
ADVERTISEMENT
One of the bills to cut transportation costs is , which would prohibit spending on the Northern Lights Express (NLX) Project. The NLX project is projected to be 80% federally funded and the Minnesota Legislature to the project in 2023, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
The other two proposed transportation-funding cuts are in , which would prohibit spending on the Reconnect Rondo, and which would enact a temporary moratorium for spending on light rail projects, with the exception of the Green Line metro system through Minneapolis and St. Paul.
鈥淲e鈥檝e identified hundreds of millions of dollars being poured into projects and programs that don鈥檛 serve the best interests of Minnesotans,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淏y ending the train boondoggles, freeing up existing health care funds, prioritizing Minnesotans, and implementing good government measures, we can cut spending, without shifting the costs onto counties or schools, who will in turn, shift that burden onto property taxpayers.鈥�
One of the bills, , would prohibit any state spending for undocumented immigrants, specifically under MinnesotaCare and the North Star Promise scholarship program.
Senate Republicans are also proposing a set of four bills to prevent wasteful spending: would restrict grants to non-profits with highly compensated officers, would require a report on vacant state office spaces, would discontinue certain commissions and work groups after two years, and would require legislators to disclose any financial ties to entities seeking state funding.
Social media protections
On Wednesday, Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, and Sen. Alice Mann, DFL-Edina, announced legislation to require social media apps to show mental health warning labels and timers tracking how long a user spent on a platform.
The bills, / , would amend the existing 鈥淧rohibiting Social Media Manipulation Act鈥� to require that platforms show users a mental health warning label every time the user opens the platform. The bill also requires social media platforms to display a pop-up notification every 30-60 minutes alerting the user to how much time has been consecutively spent on the platform.
ADVERTISEMENT
鈥淭he evidence is clear that unchecked social media is linked with poor mental health outcomes, especially among children,鈥� Stephenson said in a press release. 鈥淎s policymakers, we have a responsibility to address this growing crisis.鈥�
Bills passed out of chambers
The first and only bill to be signed by Gov. Tim Walz so far this session is , which amends financial reporting requirements for grain buyers. Walz signed the bill on Monday, March 17.
House
: Establishing the State Agency Value Initiative (SAVI) program for state agencies to encourage innovation and cost savings. The bill was passed 133-0 in the House and now goes to the Senate.
: Expanding the scope for background checks for adult entertainment or massage license applications to include national data. The bill was passed 132-0 in the House and now goes to the Senate.
: Prohibiting entities or organizations that receive state funding from making campaign expenditures or otherwise expending money for any political purpose. The bill was passed 130-3 in the House and now goes to the Senate.
: Increasing whistleblower protections. The bill was passed 133-0 in the House and now goes to the Senate.
ADVERTISEMENT
: Modifying training requirement for mandatory reporters, requiring more training on noticing signs of abuse and maltreatment. The bill was passed 134-0 in the House and now goes to the Senate.
: Modifying service dog provision in housing accommodation for individuals training service dogs under accredited programs to be granted reasonable accommodations. The bill was passed 114-15 in the House and now goes to the Senate.
: Requiring the director of child sex trafficking prevention to submit a program evaluation each odd-numbered year to the Legislature. The bill was passed 132-0 in the House and now goes to the Senate.
: Modifying Minnesota鈥檚 Partition Act, updating the law on eminent domain and the transfer on death deed (TODD). The bill passed 119-12 in the House. It previously passed out of the Senate on a 62-0 vote.
Senate
: Modifying professional development training requirement for the implementation of the Read Act. The bill was passed 62-0 in the Senate and now goes to the House.
: Increasing speed limit for implements of husbandry (vehicles used for agriculture) to 35 miles per hour. The bill was passed 65-0 in the Senate and now goes to the House.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Trust Project
