Legislative Update: We've met the deadline for all three bills! What's next?
The 2022 Legislative Session policy deadline was April 1st and our staff have been busy! The legislature was in recess last week from April 9 to April 18th, and is back this week to continue activity on their legislative priorities. Our 2022 Legislative Agenda includes three key issues affecting Minnesota Fosters. I am happy to report we met the deadlines for all three bills, and now we will focus on seeing them to the end! Each year, our work to deliver true justice for Fosters by Fosters takes about $600,000 from our community of donors–and we’re already about halfway there. We’re grateful for the support so far!
Where we've been and where we're headed on these critical bills!
Chief Authors
Rep. Jessica Hanson
Sen. Karin Housley
Next Steps
We have bipartisan support in both chambers, and we are hopeful for a floor vote in both the House and the Senate. Chief Authors Rep. Jessica Hanson and Sen. Karin Housley have been champions in moving this bill through committees.
Chief Authors
Next Steps
Maya’s Law has bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, and was led with a powerful hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee. The next step is to make sure that the Senate accepts the House omnibus provision that includes Maya’s Law.
How you can help:
Call or send an email to Sen. Jim Abeler and Rep. Jennifer Schulz asking them to support Maya’s Law (HF3971/SF4355) in Conference Committee.
Chief Authors
Next Steps
The Social Security Survivor Benefits bill has bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. It will be included in the House Human Services omnibus and must be litigated in conference committee. However, the good news is that we have support from Rep. Jennifer Schulz and have had good conversations with Sen. Jim Abeler.
How you can help:
Call or send an email to Rep. Jennifer Schulz and Sen. Jim Abeler asking them to support SSI Benefits (HF3211/SF3955) in Conference Committee.
It takes $200,000 a year to be nimble enough to pivot and respond to this kind of injustice– and we’ll turn those donations into $11 million back in the hands of Fosters where it belongs. We don’t always know where our funding will come from, but we know that we like that return for Fosters, so we’re going for it.
As we prepare for the final stage of the legislative session, we want to send another huge thank you to our Community Board, our amazing testifiers, and our partners in this important work. If you want to see our testifiers in action, check out their testimony here.
In solidarity,
Ariana Guerra
Policy and Advocacy Manager
P.S. There is more information to come, and we will keep you updated via our social media channels! It’s never too late to get involved and join our efforts. If you want to talk more about how we work or want to get involved, please reach out.