Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Senate Report by Dan Sparks

 

It has now been two weeks since Gov. Tim Walz implemented his stay-at-home order and a month since the declaration of a peacetime emergency in Minnesota due to COVID-19. Minnesotans are facing a serious challenge right now, and unfortunately this challenge will be with us for the foreseeable future.

Our community is meeting this challenge head-on. This week, Gov. Walz extended his stay-at-home order until Monday, May 4. While this is a sacrifice that we are all being asked to make, it is also working. The data shows that Minnesota’s social distancing and community mitigation efforts are helping us maintain a lower rate of spread than many of our peer states. In Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin the rates of spread are increasing at a much higher rate. Our approach is saving lives and helping us expand our health care system’s capacity to respond.

We also know that there remains work to be done, and we are doing everything we can at the Legislature to help. This includes supporting our first responders who are putting their lives on the line for us. Due to the current shortage of personal protective equipment, they are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. To help address this, we passed legislation this past week that makes COVID-19 a condition that can be covered by workers’ compensation. It’s important that we help those who are helping us during this crisis.

Many small and local businesses are grappling with closures and lost revenue as we respond to the virus, and they need all the help they can get. The Minnesota Department of Revenue has recently been able to take two measures to help mitigate the impact. First, the deadline to remit sales and use taxes for receipts in February and March has been extended to May 20. Second, the department will give a 60-day filing extension on 2019 MinnesotaCare returns for dentists and health care providers on request, as well as relief from penalties and interest on late payments.

While these steps certainly do not solve all the issues the business community faces, the hope is that these steps, coupled with other actions from the state and federal government, will help take enough pressure off for them to stay afloat until commerce can fully reopen in Minnesota. The Legislature and local governments both continue to explore strategies to diminish the impact on small and local businesses, as they are the backbone of our state’s economy.

There is also more to be done for the economic well-being of people who have lost a paycheck. Through no fault of their own, tens of thousands of Minnesotans have seen their hours reduced or lost their job. Thankfully, the Department of Employment and Economic Development is doing everything it can to process unemployment claims. This week, Minnesota became one of the first states to start sending out the extra $600 in benefits that were passed in the federal stimulus. This boost, which comes on top of state benefits, will help thousands of Minnesotans during this time. If you have had your hours cut back or lost your job, please consider applying for unemployment insurance here: https://www.uimn.org/applicants/needtoknow/news-updates/covid-19.jsp. 

Things can change quickly during this crisis, and I know people are looking for help. Gov. Walz has unveiled a new dashboard that has the most up-to-date information about the ways Minnesota is addressing this crisis. I encourage everyone to visit this site at https://mn.gov/covid19/ for the latest news.

In the governor’s State of the State address, he said, “No matter how daunting the challenge, no matter how dark the times, Minnesota has always risen up — by coming together.” Our community remains strong and united. During this holiday weekend, when we may not be able to be together, let us continue to stand with each other, lean on one another and emerge stronger on the other side.

Sen. Dan Sparks represents District 27, which includes all or portions of Dodge, Faribault, Freeborn, Mower and Steele counties in the southeastern part of the state.