August 1st New Laws

Dear neighbors,

Hope you are having a wonderful summer! 

There is good news I wanted to share with you all.  As you know, all three major credit rating agencies had downgraded Minnesota's credit rating following previous legislatures' budget enactments. These actions raised the amount of our hard working community members' tax dollars that went to interest payments at all levels of government.  

Moody’s Investors Service recently upgraded Minnesota’s bonding outlook from negative to stable, citing “strong fiscal management.” We have a ways to go, but we are moving in the right direction.  They cited one of the reasons for improvement was that we were trending away from political gridlock and borrowing, the practices that had been detrimental to our finances.  Moody’s also listed Minnesota’s credit strengths to include strong economic fundamentals—including diverse employment, high wealth, rebuilding of budget reserves, and satisfactory liquidity.

I also wanted to make sure that you are aware of a number of new laws that go into effect on August 1st.

The laws are a product of the 2013 Legislative Session which adjourned on time this past May. While many of these new laws haven’t received much press attention, they are important and will affect thousands of citizens across the state.

A breakdown of some of the major pieces of legislation going into effect on August 1st is below. You can see the full list of new laws by visiting the House Public Information website.

Marriage Equality

The state’s marriage laws will change from being male/female specific to authorize marriage and divorce of two persons, regardless of gender. It will provide exemptions for churches and other religious associations from providing goods or services related to same-sex marriage ceremonies, if doing so would be in violation of the entity’s religious beliefs.

Vulnerable adult financial protections enhanced

The county where a victim resides will become an eligible venue for cases when a vulnerable adult is financially exploited. The law will also allow such offenses to be aggregated over a six-month period. Supporters said the aggregation is needed to demonstrate the extent of the crime because financial exploitation generally occurs over time, such as misuse of a vulnerable adult’s financial transaction card.

Advanced EMT added as permitted ambulance staff

Minnesota law requires an advanced life-support ambulance to be staffed by at least one emergency medical technician and one paramedic. A new certification, advanced emergency medical technicians, is created and those meeting the qualification will be able to serve as advanced life-support ambulance staff.

Advanced EMTs are allowed to treat patients with epinephrine, nitroglycerin, aspirin, and nebulizer treatments. Advanced EMTs will be required to complete education requirements, overseen by the Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board.

Hunting license provisions changed for critically ill, disabled veterans

Critically ill people will be allowed, once in a lifetime, to purchase hunting licenses otherwise limited by a lottery drawing under a provision of the omnibus game and fish law. The law will allow veterans with 100 percent permanently disabled status to receive a permanent card allowing them to more easily obtain a hunting license, for deer or small game, free of charge.

Service animals clarified as dogs

Service animals help people with disabilities navigate through their day-to-day activities. Under current law, it is an unfair discriminatory practice to prohibit these animals from being in a public place. A new law will amend state statute regarding these animals and bring the state in line with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. The law also deletes a provision that requires service animals to be properly identified as being trained.

Helping intoxicated underage drinkers do the right thing

A new law provides that a person under age 21 who consumes or possesses an alcoholic beverage will not be subject to prosecution “if the person contacts a 911 operator to report that the person or another person is in need of medical assistance for an immediate health or safety concern provided that the person who initiates contact is the first person to make a report, provides a name and contact information, remains on the scene until assistance arrives and cooperates with the authorities at the scene.”

The person receiving medical attention will also not be charged with underage drinking; nor will one or two persons acting in concert with the caller provided they provide contact information and cooperate at the scene. The law does not protect underage drinkers from other alcohol-related charges.

New law to toughen penalties for fake 911 calls

The list of acts that constitutes criminal conduct related to emergency telephone calls will expand. A new law will make it a misdemeanor if someone places a fake 911 call, knowing no emergency exists with the intent to disrupt emergency services. Doing this a second time would result in a gross misdemeanor. Three or more infractions would be felonies.

It would also be a gross misdemeanor to report a fictitious emergency to prompt an emergency response. If someone suffers great bodily harm or is killed as a result of the response, the charge would be a felony.

As always, thanks for allowing me to be your voice at the Capitol.

Best,

Yvonne