It was another busy week at the capitol. Before we review what happened this week I wanted to share with you a free event coming up to help veterans with their legal issues.
The Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans is co-hosting a free legal clinic for Veterans on Tuesday, April 16 in St. Cloud. Veterans can ask questions about housing, employment, benefits, expungement, wills, debt collection, family law, and more. Read their flyer for more information: https://mn.gov/mdva/assets/2019-04-16-st-cloud-macv-legal-clinic_tcm1066-376092.pdf
Reimbursing deputy registrars for the MNLARS mess
The MNLARS mess has caused a lot of problems. Employees have been hospitalized due to stress and anxiety, and thousands upon thousands of Minnesotans have experienced unacceptable delays for even the most basic transactions or paid incorrect fees because the system can’t handle the simplest functions.
But the folks who have been hit the hardest have been deputy registrars. These private business owners are tasked with processing these transactions, and it is their sole function. Auto dealers who were harmed can still sell cars to keep their businesses going, but for the registrars this is their livelihood. Many were forced to borrow against their 401K or dip into their savings just to stay afloat. Some are on the verge of bankruptcy.
None of this was their fault. The state put them in this position, and the state has a responsibility to help.
This week the Senate passed a bill that would reimburse registrars for their losses based on the number of transactions they process. This will not completely make up for the damage, but it will help them significantly.
Helping Minnesota communities clean up after natural disasters
One of government’s priorities to help our fellow Minnesotans clean up after natural disasters. In the past, this process has been hung up by political games. In 2014, the state created a Disaster Assistance Contingency Account to expedite the process by which funds are appropriated to impacted areas. The process has worked very well.
This week the Senate began the process of preparing for spring floods and other natural disasters by approving a bill that would transfer $10 million to the state’s Disaster Assistance Contingency Account. The account currently has a balance of only $500,000 due to an unusually large number of disasters in 2018. One of those disasters occurred in St. Louis County. In late October, FEMA declared a major disaster in St. Louis County after gale force winds, damaging waves, and flood damage caused significant damage. The original estimate for the state share of the disaster was $2.9 million. The overall estimate of the state share increased to about $4 million in February, when FEMA made the disaster declaration official.Funding is for the disaster account is not built into the budget, so it must be appropriated every year.
Sincerely,