Ewald at the Capitol

Frontline Worker Bonus Pay

The working group tasked with determining how $250 million will be distributed to frontline workers began meeting this week. The group consists of six members appointed by the legislature, and three by the governor. The money comes from the federal American Rescue Plan, and will be given to some of Minnesota’s estimated 924,000 frontline workers as bonuses. Not everyone will get bonuses, and the only stipulation going into negotiations is that long-term care workers must be included.

The working group will continue meeting and hearing testimony from different sectors of frontline workers until the Sept. 6 deadline.

Redistricting

The Minnesota Senate has announced the first informational hearing for the Redistricting Committee. Following a census, the Minnesota Legislature has the constitutional responsibility to redistrict, or re-draw boundaries, for Congressional, State House, State Senate, and Metropolitan districts (local districts are redistricted on a local level).

The committee will begin by taking testimony on issues related to redistricting in Minnesota. The legislature has until Feb. 2022 to complete its work to redistrict the state to reflect updated census information.

California Clean Car Standards

The Walz Administration has officially adopted California’s Clean Car Standards, but the rules do not go into effect until 2024. The set of standards will determine allowable limits for greenhouse gas emissions of new vehicles beginning with 2025 models. The standards also determine a certain amount of zero tailpipe emission cars that must be available for purchase.

The pursuit and adoption of the new standards has been controversial, but in the end, an administrative law judge determined that it is within the purview of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s rulemaking authority to seek and enact the changes.

Minnesota is the 15th state, and first in the Midwest, to enact these standards.

K-12 Masks

The state has announced a recommendation that Minnesota’s schools require masks for children and adults while indoors for this upcoming school year, regardless of vaccination status. The recommendation is based on guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The announcement comes only as a recommendation because Gov. Walz can no longer enact state mask mandates due to the end of his emergency powers earlier this month. The decision will ultimately be left to each school district to decide for themselves. Federal masking rules still exist for public transportation, so all children will still be required to wear masks on school buses.