Immigration and MCLA Appropriations

The REAL ID bill has passed in both the House (H.F 3) and the Senate (S.F 166) and it is now going to conference committee. It is believed that the conference committee will meet after the Easter break (April 10-17) and we will let the public know if that changes. Our Council is concerned with provisions in the House bill because we find it directly negatively impacting the Latino immigrant community. The Senate bill does not include these provisions and therefore is referred as a “clean“ REAL ID bill. Our efforts, along with that of other organizations, are that the final bill from conference committee at the end of session reflects a clean REAL ID.

​MCLA is a state agency that operates from funds appropriated by the legislature to accomplish the mission set forth by its legislative mandate. This is a budget year in which all state agencies and other entities are appropriated funds to continue operating its governmental functions. Earlier this session the Governor’s Budget recommended our agency to receive a base budget increase and both the Senate and House State Finance Committees have recommended not to include an increase but it also didn’t include a direct cut. These differences will go to conference committee. We will keep you updated on the appropriations process.

Education

All education omnibus bills were heard in the House and Senate E12 and Higher Education committees from March 21 to March 28. As a result of the collaborative efforts by the state Ethnic Councils, the Indian Affairs Council, and the Coalition to Increase Teachers of Color and American Indian teachers and other stakeholders, several provisions from bills co-drafted by the Coalition and MCLA to increase teachers of color and American Indian teachers made it into these omnibus bills, including most of SF1555 – The Increase Teachers of Color Act. 

While this is a positive step in the legislative process to increase teachers of color and American Indian teachers in the state, it is unlikely that the amount of money currently appropriated will help to significantly increase in the number teachers of color and American Indian teachers (currently only at 4.2% of public school teacher workforce vs. 31% of student body from these communities). However, this phase of the legislative process sets the negotiation floor. There are two or more months of the legislative process and opportunities still exist to increase appropriations pending negotiations amongst conference committee members in the House and Senate and the Governor.

 Initial bill package, with broad bipartisan and community support:       

        To see bill summaries and endorsements: E-12 bills (SF1555/HF2077) and Higher Ed bills (SF1585/HF1409)

        E-12 Senate Bill (SF1555) – Chief Author: Carla Nelson

        Higher Ed Senate Bill (SF1585) – Chief Author: Paul Anderson

        E-12 House Bill (HF2077) – Chief Author: Dean Urdahl

        Higher Ed House Bill (HF1409) – Chief Author: Bud Nornes

See the omnibus bills summary of provisions to support teachers of color and American Indian teachers (By Coalition).

• E-12 Senate Bill: SF718
• Higher Ed Senate Bill:  SF2214
• E-12 House Bill: HF890
• Higher Ed House Bill: HF2477

In addition to the extensive work on the comprehensive bills to increase teachers of color and American Indian teachers in the state, MCLA has also provided input on legislation to increase dual credit student participation and data disaggregation for the continuation of the All Kids Count Act.  

Economic Development

MCLA has achieved three important successes in economic development. 

First, we brought three Latino small business owners to testify in front of the Senate Jobs & Economic Development committee, showing how important Latino entrepreneurship is to Minnesota’s economy. These three businesses – La Mexicana Grocery Store, Avandaro Beauty Salon, and The Seasoner Magazine – discussed their successes and what challenges they face as being small-business owners. 

Second, we have supported many bills that provide funding for either Latino-owned organizations or to nonprofits that are striving to improve disparity rates in our state. So far many of these bills have been included in the House or Senate Jobs Omnibus bills, and we will continue to advocate for their inclusion as session continues. 

Third, we advocated for wage theft prevention. We have heard from many community members about their experiences with wage theft and we are committed to finding a solution to this problem. Although the wage theft prevention act (H.F. 1391/ S.F. 1329) has yet to receive a hearing, we are working with the governor’s office, the Department of Labor and Industry, and community organizations such as Centro Campesino and CTUL (Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha) to find a legislative solution to the wage theft problem.

Health

MCLA worked this session to re-introduce the spoken language health care interpreters’ registry system bill (SF1708/HF2023). This bill was supported last year by the Council because its purpose is to reduce disparities in health care outcomes for patients with limited English proficiency, to improve employment options for spoken language health care interpreters, and to decrease medical cost inefficiencies in diagnoses and treatments. ​

The bill was sponsored by Senator Melissa Wiklund in the Senate. The Council, along with the other two ethnic councils, championed efforts to find authors and co-authors in the House. Rep. Ilhan Omar was the main author, and Reps. Anthony Albright and Nick Zerwas were co-authors. Other efforts included meeting with chairs of various committees in the House of Representatives, summarize the bill to make it more accessible to legislators, and work with the Interpreting Stakeholder Group (ISG) to propose new language that would satisfy a broader spectrum of stakeholders. The bill was introduced in both chambers before the first deadline. It had one hearing in the Senate Health and Human Services Finance & Policy , but it did not move forward. MCLA will continue supporting legislative efforts to have this bill included in the next legislative session. 

​The Council provided testimony to support the Department of Human Services policy priorities that protect the safety network and services for low income families, children and vulnerable individuals. As part of the Cultural and Ethnic Communities Leadership Council (CECLC), we also acknowledge the need to operationalize equity in institutions and we salute the department’s efforts in enacting an equity policy in DHS’ departments.

​Repealing the Affordable Care Act at the federal level would also have a big impact in Latino communities. Thanks to the expansion of Medicaid, the number of uninsured Latinos have been going down. Currently, approximately 9,000 more Latinos have coverage through MNSure. In order to increase health insurance options at lower costs, we support  the MinnesotaCare Buy-In Option.