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Dear Neighbors,
Thank you to all who attended our Community Listening Session with
Attorney General Keith Ellison. Attorney General Ellison and I share the
appreciation for such strong involvement from our community. Decisions
we make at the State Capitol have an impact on our neighborhoods and for
us to best advocate for you, this direct engagement is critical. I
intend to have more events like this in the future.
Several initiatives to curb youth tobacco use are moving ahead. Last
week the Health and Human Services Policy Committee, which I chair,
voted to approve bills raising the age to purchase tobacco to 21, to add
e-cigarettes to the state’s definition of smoking under the Minnesota
Clean Indoor Air Act, and to invest in programs to help Minnesotans
quit. These are all key items to protect the health of Minnesotans and
save lives. I especially want to thank the young adults who visited the
Capitol in support of this bill.
I also had the opportunity to visit with “Girls in Action
( https://giaction.org/) ” last week, an amazing group of emerging
leaders.
African American Family Preservation Act
From initial reporting, screening, and assessment, wide disparities
exist within our child protection system with African American children
removed from their homes at a rate over three times that of white
children. Last week, Sen. Jeff Hayden and I renewed our effort to pass
the African American Family Preservation Act. The bill has measures to
end this disparity through oversight and accountability at every stage
of the process, and it will create the African American Child Welfare
Advisory Council within the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
Too often, when children are taken from their homes and put in the
child protection system, it leads to them entering the criminal justice
system. In many cases, there are more effective strategies to ensure the
safety of children while looking toward their long-term best interests.
I’m hopeful this bill will give us a pathway to explore these. You can
watch our press conference here
(
.
Conversion Therapy
Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, and loved and
valued for who they are. Under one practice referred to as “conversion
therapy,” LGBTQ people are coerced or worse, tortured, in an effort to
change their identity. Groups like the American Medical Association and
American Psychological Association note the practice lacks scientific
credibility, and this can lead to depression, substance abuse, and
suicide.
Last week, the Health and Human Services Policy Committee approved a
bill
(
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF0012&ssn=0&y=2019)
to prohibit conversion therapy in Minnesota for children and vulnerable
adults. This is an important step forward to show we value LGBTQ people
for who they are, and not allow them to be subjected to discredited
“therapy.”
Community-Centered Probation Reforms
Last week the House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Committee
discussed a series of proposals to reform probation in the state of
Minnesota. Minnesota’s incarceration rate is low, ranked 47th out of 50
states, but the rate of Minnesotans on probation or community
supervision is high, ranked fifth. With such high caseloads, this means
less attention is available for high-risk offenders while putting many
low-risk offenders potentially back in prison for technical violations.
There are also significant racial and geographic inequities within our
probation system and there is a bipartisan effort to address these
disparities.
Reforms proposed include capping probation at five years, expanding the
Alternatives to Incarceration Program to allow for treatment instead of
incarceration for nonviolent drug-related probation violations, and to
require the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission to establish
probation terms for offenders based on the characteristics of the
offense and the offender. These community-centered solutions will enable
Minnesotans to fully reintegrate with our society, lower recidivism, and
help end mass incarceration.
Please continue to contact me with your viewpoints, ideas, and
concerns. It’s an honor to represent you.
Sincerely,
Rena Moran
State Representative
Rep. Rena Moran
Chair, House Health and Human Services Policy Committee
( https://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/Committees/home/91008)
575 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
www.house.mn/65A
Facebook
( https://www.facebook.com/RepRenaMoran/)
Phone: 651-296-5158
E-mail: <email obscured>
Legislative Assistant: Alyssa Fritz, 651-296-2491
Dear Neighbors,
Thank you to all who attended our Community Listening Session with
Attorney General Keith Ellison. Attorney General Ellison and I share the
appreciation for such strong involvement from our community. Decisions
we make at the State Capitol have an impact on our neighborhoods and for
us to best advocate for you, this direct engagement is critical. I
intend to have more events like this in the future.
Several initiatives to curb youth tobacco use are moving ahead. Last
week the Health and Human Services Policy Committee, which I chair,
voted to approve bills raising the age to purchase tobacco to 21, to add
e-cigarettes to the state’s definition of smoking under the Minnesota
Clean Indoor Air Act, and to invest in programs to help Minnesotans
quit. These are all key items to protect the health of Minnesotans and
save lives. I especially want to thank the young adults who visited the
Capitol in support of this bill.
I also had the opportunity to visit with “Girls in Action
( https://giaction.org/) ” last week, an amazing group of emerging
leaders.
African American Family Preservation Act
From initial reporting, screening, and assessment, wide disparities
exist within our child protection system with African American children
removed from their homes at a rate over three times that of white
children. Last week, Sen. Jeff Hayden and I renewed our effort to pass
the African American Family Preservation Act. The bill has measures to
end this disparity through oversight and accountability at every stage
of the process, and it will create the African American Child Welfare
Advisory Council within the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
Too often, when children are taken from their homes and put in the
child protection system, it leads to them entering the criminal justice
system. In many cases, there are more effective strategies to ensure the
safety of children while looking toward their long-term best interests.
I’m hopeful this bill will give us a pathway to explore these. You can
watch our press conference here
(
.
Conversion Therapy
Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, and loved and
valued for who they are. Under one practice referred to as “conversion
therapy,” LGBTQ people are coerced or worse, tortured, in an effort to
change their identity. Groups like the American Medical Association and
American Psychological Association note the practice lacks scientific
credibility, and this can lead to depression, substance abuse, and
suicide.
Last week, the Health and Human Services Policy Committee approved a
bill
(
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF0012&ssn=0&y=2019)
to prohibit conversion therapy in Minnesota for children and vulnerable
adults. This is an important step forward to show we value LGBTQ people
for who they are, and not allow them to be subjected to discredited
“therapy.”
Community-Centered Probation Reforms
Last week the House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Committee
discussed a series of proposals to reform probation in the state of
Minnesota. Minnesota’s incarceration rate is low, ranked 47th out of 50
states, but the rate of Minnesotans on probation or community
supervision is high, ranked fifth. With such high caseloads, this means
less attention is available for high-risk offenders while putting many
low-risk offenders potentially back in prison for technical violations.
There are also significant racial and geographic inequities within our
probation system and there is a bipartisan effort to address these
disparities.
Reforms proposed include capping probation at five years, expanding the
Alternatives to Incarceration Program to allow for treatment instead of
incarceration for nonviolent drug-related probation violations, and to
require the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission to establish
probation terms for offenders based on the characteristics of the
offense and the offender. These community-centered solutions will enable
Minnesotans to fully reintegrate with our society, lower recidivism, and
help end mass incarceration.
Please continue to contact me with your viewpoints, ideas, and
concerns. It’s an honor to represent you.
Sincerely,
Rena Moran
State Representative
Rep. Rena Moran
Chair, House Health and Human Services Policy Committee
( https://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/Committees/home/91008)
575 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
www.house.mn/65A
( https://www.facebook.com/RepRenaMoran/)
Phone: 651-296-5158
E-mail: <email obscured>
Legislative Assistant: Alyssa Fritz, 651-296-2491