Friends and neighbors,  

Happy fall! As the leaves change, so do the needs of Minnesotans and we at the Legislature are still working hard to meet those needs  While we are still a few months away from the 2022 Session starting Jan 31, 2022, there is a possible Special Session to work on the Frontline Worker pay distribution.

Frontline Worker Pay Work Group
Over the course of this COVID pandemic, all Minnesotans have stepped up and taken risks to keep our state running in the safest way possible.  All Minnesotans have struggled under very difficult and challenging circumstances.  

However, there is a group of Minnesotans who gave extraordinary service and were face to face nearly every day with known COVID patients.  These brave individuals deserve meaningful recognition and appropriate compensation  (though not a measure in any way of compensating them for all their work) and thanks for the risks taken, hours put in, and emotional hardships faced day in and day out.  These are our nurses, long-term care providers, personal care assistants, first responders plus others in healthcare but not including those who worked remotely or took unemployment for more than 30 days.  These are folks who held the hands of COVID patients, answered emergency calls for help in homes, held grandma’s hand in her last days, moved in with their client, lived in a trailer outside their home to protect their families, and more.  My support is for $1,200 for this group of people, about 193,000 of them.  Many are union workers.  

The recent Legislature set aside $250 million and established the FLWP Work Group to recommend how and to whom to distribute this money, not an easy task.  So prioritizing those who took the greatest known risks came quickly to understanding in our work. The democrats proposed a 1.3 million group of people and $1,500 each which included all essential workers no matter their job description.  That would cost nearly $2 billion.  We had $250 million.  That was our authority. So I found that to be outside our ability to do in a meaningful amount. 

The Legislature is waiting for Governor Walz to call us into Special Session so we can pass this meaningful legislation and get the money to those who have earned it. Unfortunately, discussions and negotiations have reached a bit of a challenge between the legislative bodies due to a disagreement over the agenda topics to be considered in the special session and what group of people would receive funding.  

I am dedicated to working through this disagreement in a bipartisan way and will encourage other legislators to work together to make the lives of Minnesotans better. 

COVID Morgue Sale –  Finally 
As some of you may remember, back in 2020 Gov Walz Administration purchased a building in St. Paul to act as a morgue overflow after the extreme predictions for deaths in MN, even though there were many other more workable solutions.  However, the building was only used for PPE storage.  But when I toured the facility earlier in the year, it was completely unfit for storing such important equipment. The ceilings were leaking with puddles everywhere and boxes of PPE were becoming soggy and molding. So not only has this building gone unused for its intended purposes, it has ruined equipment that medical professionals so desperately needed. After authoring a bill to force the sale, I am pleased to see that this morbid building is finally being sold and will be used for future development selected by the St. Paul Port Authority. 

Main Street COVID Relief Grants
A grant program aimed at helping local businesses has just been launched by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. The goal is to help Minnesotan-owned and operated businesses that encountered financial hardship throughout the COVID pandemic. There are some groups that will be prioritized in receiving the grants such as businesses that are majority-owned by military veterans, women, people of color, and those who did not receive previous assistance from other state relief programs.  The distributed funds can be used for payroll expenses, rent, mortgage payments, and other similar expenses that have occurred since March 12, 2020. If you have any questions about the program you can contact DEED at mscrg.deed@state.mn.us. 

It is my duty to represent you here in St. Paul and I am honored to be the voice of District 30. I would encourage you to reach out regarding any legislative issue now or in the future. I can be reached by email at Sen.Mary.Kiffmeyer@Senate.MN or please call me at 651-296-5655. 

Sincerely,
Mary