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Legislative Update

Direct your public policy questions to Trevor Turner at Trevor.Turner@state.mn.us or 651-350-8642.

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May 17, 2022

We are in the final week of the Minnesota Legislative Session, and legislators have made progress!

Governor Walz, Speaker Hortman, and Majority Leader Miller agreed on budget targets over the weekend. These targets include:

  • over $1 billion for health and human services,
  • $1 billion for schools, and
  • $4 billion for tax cuts.

Conference committees can now make final agreements and pass their supplemental budgets before the May 23 session deadline. Follow conference committee activities.

It looks like some of MCD’s legislative priorities will be included in final versions of bills this session. The capacity building and Rare Disease Advisory Council provisions will likely pass. However, the Employment and Retention of Employees with Disabilities provisions will likely not pass because of vast disagreements over the state government omnibus bill.

Contact Senator Kiffmeyer this week and demand that she prioritizes state employees with disabilities and include the disability employment provisions in the state government omnibus bill!

There is a great deal of work still to do in the final week of the Minnesota legislative session. The budget target agreement among our state leaders is a sign of progress.

Stay tuned: Next week, we will have a final update at the close of the legislative session!

April 18, 2022

Minnesota Legislators return from their spring recess this week, and we are now in the home stretch for the 2022 Legislative Session. This week, omnibus bills will be heard in the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees for final approval before they go conference committee for reconciliations. Omnibus bills are collections of smaller bills introduced and heard in their respective committees earlier in the legislative session. The bills are compiled into a larger bill negotiated between the Senate and House during conference committees.

The Senate omnibus bills differ wildly from the House omnibus bills this year. The DFL-controlled (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) House viewed the $9.25 billion budget surplus as an opportunity to address inequity issues and support social safety net programs. The GOP-led (Grand Old Party, another name for Republican) Senate saw the surplus as evidence of excess taxation. They argued the legislature should return that money to Minnesotans and Minnesota businesses through permanent tax breaks. This stance meant that the Senate largely avoided hearing bills with fiscal notes. The House was much more open to hearing bills that appropriated money.

All the Minnesota Council on Disability’s (MCD) legislative priorities were heard in the House and included in their respective omnibus bill. However, the only MCD legislative priority heard in the Senate was a bill that would move the Rare Disease Advisory Council to the Minnesota Council on Disability. This bill had a net-zero fiscal cost to the state.

This does not mean that the remaining MCD legislative priorities won’t pass. However, it does mean that passage depends on House DFLers willing to negotiate for inclusion in the final reconciled omnibus bills.

Status of MCD Priority Bills

Minnesota Council on Disability Budget Expansion Bill

  • Included in the House Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill HF 4706
  • Included via author’s amendment A22-0419 (Liebling) (PDF) Line 444.30
  • $375k increase per year or 36% increase from current base budget

State Employment and Retention of Employees with Disabilities Bill

  • Included in the House State Government Omnibus Bill HF 4293
  • Included via amendment H4293DE2 Lines 27.12-44.30
  • Would improve the hiring and retention of employees with disabilities in state government

Rare Disease Advisory Council Bill

  • Included in the House Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill HF 4706
  • Included via author’s amendment A22-0419 (Liebling) (PDF) Lines 454.25-30
  • Moved to a floor vote in the senate, but will be reconciled in conference committee
  • Moves the Rare Disease Advisory Council to the Minnesota Council on Disability

Unrestricted Access to Services for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Rare Diseases Bill

  • Included in the House Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill HF 4706
  • Included via author’s amendment A22-0419 (Liebling) (PDF) Lines 364.22-365.25
  • Allows for the insurance coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases regardless of if provider is in the patient’s insurance network

Allow PCAs to Drive Clients Bill

  • Included in the House Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill HF 4579 via author’s amendment A22-0415 (Schultz) (PDF) Lines 63.28 – 65.2
  • Included in the Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill HF 4410
  • Included via author’s amendment SCS4410A-1 (Abeler) (PDF) Lines 3.24-5.19
  • Includes driving as an approved instrumental activity of daily living and allows PCAs to drive their clients

Increasing Accessible Housing through Bonding Dollars

  • Included in the House Housing Omnibus Bill HF 4376 via amendment H4376DE2 lines 10.17-10.19
  • Requires all affordable housing paid for with bonding dollars to have at least 1 or 5% accessible units, whichever is greater.

Inclusive Higher Education Bill

  • Included in the House Higher Education Omnibus Bill HF 3872 via amendment H3872DE3 Lines 3.26-4.2
  • Creates Inclusive Higher Education Technical Assistance Center created to help higher education institutions create inclusive programs for people with intellectual disabilities

Accessible Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

  • No bill number but may be introduced as an amendment in House and Senate Energy Omnibus Bills
  • Requires that one or 4% of electric vehicle charging stations be accessible for multiple charging stations

Task Force on Eliminating Subminimum Wages Changes

  • Included in the Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill HF 4410 via author’s amendment SCS4410A-1 (Abeler) (PDF) Lines 25.14 – 29.4
  • Would remove “Eliminating” from Task Force Title (not supported by MCD)
  • Adds 4 new members: 3 parents of a person with a disability and 1 person currently on subminimum wage

Disability As a Health Equity Issue

  • Included in the House Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill HF 4706 via author’s amendment A22-0419 (Liebling) (PDF) Lines 57.19 – 58.9
  • Requires the collaboration and coordination between state and community partners to address equity​ barriers to health care and preventative services for chronic diseases among people with​ disabilities
  • Supporting the Lives of those with Long-COVID
  • Included in the House Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill HF 4706 via author’s amendment A22-0419 (Liebling) (PDF) Lines 47.1 – 48.7
  • Establishes a program​ to conduct community needs assessments, perform epidemiologic studies, and establish a population-based surveillance system to address long COVID

Disability Services Task Force

  • Included in the House Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill HF 4579 via author’s amendment A22-0415 (Schultz) (PDF) Lines 103.12 – 109.15
  • Creates a task force to examine the effectiveness of disability services at the Dept. of Human Services

Medicaid Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities (MA-EPD)

  • Included in the Senate Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill SF 4410 via author’s amendment SCS4410A12 (Abeler) (PDF)
  • Creates a sliding scale for premiums under MA-EPD based on federal poverty guidelines

Omnibus Bills MCD is following closely:

Health and Human Services Omnibus Bills

State Government Omnibus Bills

Work Force, Jobs, Economic Development Omnibus Bills

Public Safety Omnibus Bills

Labor and Industry Omnibus Bills

Early Childhood and Education Omnibus Bills

Housing Omnibus Bills

Higher Education Omnibus Bills

Transportation Omnibus Bills

Other Disability-Related Bills:

Bills heard in both the House and the Senate:

Disability Waiver services reimbursement rate modified
Disability Waiver respite service market rates authorized
Medical assistance eligibility requirements of employed persons with disabilities modified
Increase rate for developmental disability care facility
Children’s therapeutic services and supports and certified community behavioral health clinics requirements modifications
Extended employment services funding provided for persons with severe disabilities, and money appropriated

Disability-related Bills only heard in the House

Medical assistance waiver service for life sharing, and money appropriated
Task Force on Disability Services Accessibility and pilot project established
Task Force established to examine aging demographics and issues affecting health aging to determine necessity for a state department on aging.
Exclusion from recess prohibited as student discipline
Fully funding school district special education services
Mobile Nursing Clinic in rural and urban areas

Increasing income limits for medical assistance

Individuals with developmental disabilities of any age in senior housing units
Duty disability determination timeline modified
Senior claimant and claimants with a disability exemption amount expanded
Termination of lease upon infirmity of tenant established
Mental health services: various provisions modified…
School district requirement to provide reasonable accommodations for parents of children with disabilities establishment
American Sign Language/English interpreter requirements modification
Information and telecommunications technology systems and services protected during emergencies
Closed-captioned television required
Exclusion from recess prohibited as student discipline
Adult mental health service funding modified, and money appropriated

Disability-related Bills only heard in the Senate

Scholarship program created as a learning option for students with disability
Task Force on Subminimum Wages membership and duties modified
Disabled veterans market value exclusion modified by increasing exclusion amount for totally and permanently disabled veterans.
Disabled veterans’ homestead market value exclusion spousal benefit modification

Disability-related Bills that did not receive a hearing

March 17, 2022

Not only is spring just around the corner, but we are also nearly halfway through the 2022 Legislative Session. The first deadline for committees to hear bills is a week away.

Does more money mean more problems? The Minnesota Office of Management and Budget revised the state’s projected budget surplus to a historic $9.3 billion. The House DFL caucus (Democrat) and Senate GOP caucus (Republican) are at odds about spending this money. The Minnesota Council on Disability (MCD) urges our legislators to use part of the surplus to support the disability community and address the homecare workforce crisis.

We have made significant progress on our legislative priorities. The House Workforce Committee heard the Employment and Retention of State Employees with Disabilities bill (HF 2017). After passionate testimonies from advocates and emotional comments from Representative Rod Hamilton, the bill passed out of committee with unanimous, bipartisan support.

The House Human Services Committee heard the Minnesota Council on Disability Capacity Building bill (HF 3392). The Committee laid over the bill for possible inclusion in the Human Services Omnibus Bill.

MCD testified on two other bills in the House Health Committee. HF 3676 would move the Rare Disease Advisory Council to the Minnesota Council on Disability. HF 626 would provide unrestricted access to the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases. The Committee laid over both bills for possible inclusion in the Health Omnibus Bill.

The Senate is moving slower this year, refusing to hear most bills with a fiscal cost. The GOP the majority caucus wants to spend the budget surplus on permanent tax cuts. Senators will likely make spending concessions for the following items:

  • provide relief to frontline workers,
  • replenish the unemployment insurance fund, and
  • other politically popular items. (It is an election year, after all!).

MCD reminds you: A $9.3 billion surplus doesn’t just appear. A large portion of the savings stems from reducing disability services during the pandemic. This money should be re-invested in the disability community. COVID-19 disproportionately impacted us, and we suffered much the past two years.

MCD encourages everyone to contact their local representatives and urge them to support the disability community!

February 14, 2022

We are two weeks into the 2022 Minnesota Legislative Session. A frenzy of legislators, lobbyists, and advocacy organizations are trying to ensure their bills meet important deadlines.

March 25 is the first committee deadline. To survive, all bills introduced this session need hearings in at least one relevant committee in the House or the Senate.

The second deadline is April 1. All bills need hearings in committees in both the House and Senate if they are to be considered for passage.

One of MCD’s legislative priorities, House File 2017 (HF2017), has already met the first deadline. This bill improves the hiring and retention of Minnesotans with disabilities in state government.

The House State Government Finance and Elections Committee heard HF2017 on February 10. The bill passed out of committee after some spirited debate. The core concept of the bill is uncontroversial and has bipartisan support. GOP members of the committee expressed concern about technical language in the bill. Amendments will update the language, but the bill’s impact will remain unchanged.

The committee heard a summary of the bill from chief author Representative Liz Reyer and MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner. Members also heard testimony from advocates Eric Nooker, Ken Rogers, Thomas DeVita, and Bobby Silverstein. Silverstein is a national disability advocate instrumental in writing the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Watch or listen to the full committee hearing video on YouTube.

The House Workforce and Business Development Finance and Policy committee will hear HF 2017 on February 16. If you would like to provide a written letter of support or testimony, email the Committee Administrator Travis Reese by 5 pm on Tuesday, February 15.

Trevor Turner testified at the House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee on February 10 about the importance of pedestrian safety.

Trevor is not only a disability advocate but a DeafBlind Minnesotan who walks and takes public transit every day. He talked about the importance of designing our roads, sidewalks, and pathways with disability in mind.

Public spaces often exclude people with disabilities or even put them in danger. It costs millions of dollars every year to fix exclusionary public spaces. How can the state avoid these costs? Design our public spaces to include everyone.

Watch or listen to Trevor’s testimony video on YouTube.

This month, the Office of Management and Budget will release an updated budget forecast. It will determine how the rest of the session plays out.

>All state-wide offices will be up for elections this November. We will hear and see more political rhetoric and the introduction of bold, controversial bills. Disability issues remain relatively non-partisan. It can be a challenge to bring attention to those issues during an election year.

The homecare workforce shortage crisis continues to cast a looming shadow over our elected officials. The pandemic, worker fatigue, and inadequate compensation created workforce shortages in nursing homes, group living facilities, personal care assistance, and more.

House Chair Jennifer Schultz and Senate Chair Jim Abeler held hearings on the workforce shortage. Both legislators have committed to addressing the issue this session.

There are many more stories and issues to cover. Stay tuned to Minnesota Council on Disability Public Policy Page to learn more.