Investing in our schools and students

Investing in our schools and students

Senate DFLers held a press conference this week to highlight the need of fully investing in our students and schools so that our education system supports all students, regardless of their race, zip code, or economic status. In a year when so many are recovering from the effects of COVID-19, we need to not only invest in our current system but improve it for the better. We support fully funding education to provide relief to districts that were affected this past year due to COVID-19 and support efforts to close the opportunity gap within Minnesota’s current education system. Minnesota’s education system has had one of the worst opportunity gaps in the country, which has only been exacerbated by the pandemic. Read more >>

DFLers push to include workers, students in business tax relief bill

The Senate passed bipartisan legislation Thursday to match the federal government’s tax-exclusion for forgiven Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans received by businesses in 2020. About 102,400 businesses received $11.3 billion worth of loans in Minnesota. Typically, forgiven loans are taxable at the state and federal level, but Congress made special exceptions last year. Conforming to that measure will cost Minnesota $409 million over the next two years. The bill also includes a $28 million tax exemption for unemployed Minnesotans who collected the additional $600-per-week Pandemic Unemployment Compensation approved by Congress for 17 weeks in 2020. Read more >>

Senate Republicans continue to deny funds to keep Minnesotans safe

Governor Walz made a request of the Legislature in January to establish an account to pay for cost-sharing reimbursements to local governments and state agencies during public safety events that exhaust local resources, including mutual aid requests. The bill, known as the SAFE Act, sets up $35 million to cover expenses that aren’t covered by other available federal and state disaster assistance programs after a local or state emergency is declared. The funds would be available to pay for overtime costs, travel expenses, food, lodging, and incidental supplies for law enforcement officers. Read more >>

Increasing Teachers of Color in Minnesota