Senator John Hoffman

Thursday, May 20, was the tenth annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day, a day to bring awareness about digital access and inclusion, and the more than one billion people with disabilities/impairments who may face barriers in their digital experience. In 2020, Web Accessibility in Mind (WebAIM) analyzed one million home pages for accessibility issues and found that 98.1% of them had at least one failure in delivering a truly accessible experience.

Senator John Hoffman (DFL-Champlin) was appointed to the Health and Human Services Conference Committee Monday. Members of both the Senate and the House will now meet in this joint committee to find compromise and pass a final bill.

The Minnesota Senate passed SF 383, the omnibus human services reform budget bill on a bipartisan vote of 47-20. The bill includes an increase for PCA and other home care rates, new grants focused on self-advocacy and inclusion for people with disabilities, and several provisions to support family child care providers. The bill also includes support for substance use disorder programs, mental health services, and increased flexibility for service delivery.

On Monday, Senator John Hoffman (DFL-Champlin) was named Vice-Chair of the Legislative Permanent School Fund Commission. The bipartisan 12 member Legislative Permanent School Fund Commission advises the Department of Natural Resources and the school trust lands director on the management of permanent school fund land, which is held in trust for the school districts of the state and to review legislation affecting permanent school fund land.