Legislation aimed at addressing the lack of access to affordable, consistent child care passed the Minnesota Senate on Monday. The bills, which passed with bipartisan support, rein in industry overregulation, reduce barriers of entry for new providers, and encourage existing providers to stay in business.

“Communities across our state – particularly in Greater Minnesota – are in the midst of a genuine child care crisis. Providers face a long list of burdensome, punitive regulations and inconsistent licensing standards that are driving them from the business in great numbers,” said Senator Andrew Lang (R-Olivia), the author of one of the bills passed on Monday. “These reforms are only a first step toward broader reform and more choices for parents.”

The legislation, which awaits action by the House of Representatives, includes:

• Senate File 3310, authored by Senator Bill Weber (R-Luverne) – Makes staffing requirements more flexible, reduces unnecessary paperwork for child care providers, makes it easier to hire caretakers, provides more transparency for providers and the public, and requires the Department of Human Services to identify onerous regulatory burdens and take steps to reduce them.
• Senate File 2683, authored by Senator Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake) – Exempts most minor children of in-home child care providers from providing fingerprints and photographs for background study purposes. Child care providers found this new requirement intrusive and degrading to their children.
• Senate File 2685, authored by Senator Andrew Lang (R-Olivia) – Exempts child care providers from a burdensome and unnecessary training mandate meant for caretakers of people with disabilities.

In addition, a subcommittee on child care availability was appointed under the Senate Agriculture, Rural Development, and Housing Policy Committee to study the regulatory and administrative barriers that exist for providers and develop recommendations to reduce the burden. The subcommittee met in its inaugural meeting on Tuesday to hear testimony from child care providers across the state. Senator Lang has been appointed to the subcommittee.

“In the last ten years, Minnesota has lost thousands of child care providers – amounting to an estimated 30,000 child care slots,” continued Senator Lang. “If we continue down the road of over regulation and harsh penalties, our communities that will suffer. While these bills are a good starting point, we will continue to look for ways to move forward in ensuring affordable, accessible, safe child care for Minnesota families.”

Senator Andrew Lang, of Olivia, is in his first term representing District 17, which includes communities in Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Renville, and Swift counties.