Good morning, and happy Thursday.
During the legislative session, Minnesota lawmakers and their caucuses are banned from raising campaign money from registered lobbyists, outside political funds or associations that might have matters pending before the Legislature. But as MPR’s Brian Bakst reports, major political groups and state parties remain open for contributions. And they can rely on the same officials restricted by law to draw donors to fundraisers as long as the lawmakers are not called hosts. Later this month, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic and House Speaker Melissa Hortman are set to headline a “Mid-Session Meet and Greet” for the DFL state party. Donors at the evening event being held in a hotel a short walk from the Capitol are asked to contribute between $250 to $2,500. The invitation’s fine print strives to keep it within bounds of the session contribution restrictions: “Any contribution solicited from a lobbyist or PAC is solicited solely by the Minnesota DFL Party and is made exclusively for the Minnesota DFL Party. No contributions will be solicited by, or accepted on behalf of, the House DFL Caucus, the Senate DFL caucus, or any candidate.”
Some Minnesotans are facing big questions about how to pay for food. Congress opted not to extend an emergency nutrition program that has pumped $1.3 billion into Minnesota since 2020, instead opting for additional payments to food banks to help families get through the summer, when school meals aren’t available to many children. MPR’s Dana Ferguson reports SNAP recipients, as well as food shelf leaders and nutrition groups, said they’re nervous about what comes next. More than 325,000 Minnesota households benefited from the emergency nutrition funds during the pandemic. And for the average person, the change added an extra $95 per month to the $110 they saw prior to 2020. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that the additional payments helped curb food insecurity during the pandemic. With the benefits lapsing and prices for food ballooning, the cut-off is expected to deal an especially tough blow, said Allison O’Toole, CEO of Second Harvest Heartland. “This is a big deal. This is just unrelenting for Minnesotans right now,” O’Toole said, adding that her organization tracked a 93 percent increase in SNAP enrollments compared to before the pandemic, and food shelves are already feeling the pinch of growing need, she said.
Demand is high for THC products in Minnesota, yet basic questions around what’s illegal and what happens when the cops get called have largely gone unanswered. MPR’s Tom Scheck has a story about a smoke shop transaction that ended with a 70-year-old diabetic in the hospital. Antoine Irani said he walked into a north suburban smoke shop last fall and asked for something sweet to help stabilize his blood sugar. Irani was a regular at the shop, so he said he felt comfortable eating what the clerk sold him. It was no ordinary treat. Irani bought a package of gummies laced with THC, the compound that gives marijuana its high. The gummies left him disoriented and later landed him in the hospital. Irani said he was tricked into buying the THC gummies, an accusation the store’s lawyer denies. Irani complained to local police, two state agencies and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with little to show. Observers say Minnesota’s lack of licensing requirements and penalties has left regulators and police unsure over how to respond to complaints and violations. "It just feels like this was a really bad situation and there's no recourse,” said Dena Sonbol, a professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law who helped Irani, a family friend, file the complaints. “There's no criminal recourse, there's really not any sort of administrative recourse or any sort of oversight or accountability.
Is nuclear power poised for a comeback? MPR’s Kirsti Marohn reports Minnesota's two nuclear plants, at Prairie Island and Monticello, supply nearly a quarter of the state's electricity. However, a moratorium has for years prohibited new nuclear plants from being built in Minnesota. Some state lawmakers and clean energy advocates think it's time to reconsider whether modern nuclear technology should be part of Minnesota's future. A bill under consideration at the state Capitol would require the state commerce department to study the potential costs, benefits and impacts of generating power with advanced nuclear technology. Giving new momentum to the longstanding debate: Minnesota’s new state law requiring electricity to come from carbon-free sources by 2040. The study would look at whether nuclear energy could help the state meet that mandate.
Some DFL lawmakers announced a plan Wednesday to spend $3 billion to build and preserve 150,000 homes over the next 10 years. The proposal aspires to close the homeownership racial gap and end child homelessness by 2030. The Pioneer Press reports the plan is for Minnesota to spend $10 billion over the next 10 years to provide affordable housing. House housing committee Chair Michael Howard, DFL-Richfield, called the plan “a roadmap to help solve Minnesota’s housing crisis.” Senate Housing Committee Chair Lindsey Port, DFL-Lakeville, said she thinks the plan has broad, bipartisan support because communities across the state need more affordable house. "It’s a big ask,” she said, but “I am hopeful.”
The Star Tribune reports that some lawmakers want to change the way University of Minnesota regents are selected : Proposals before the state House and Senate would impose term limits for regents, designate spots for a university employee and a member of a Native American tribe, and aim to prevent lawmakers from introducing new nominees at the last minute. "I think that members on both sides of the aisle are frustrated with the regent selection process, as well as students," said Sen. Omar Fateh, DFL-Minneapolis, who said he hopes the bills he helped write will increase diversity on the board and give people more faith in the process. Some people calling for changes argue the regent selection process has become too political, leaving the system with a board that is reluctant to question administrators and doesn't adequately represent the people it is meant to serve. Some regents say that criticism undercuts their work and they're skeptical as to whether the bills would resolve lawmakers' concerns.
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