May 5, 2021

The Honorable Carlos Mariani The Honorable Warren Limmer 479 State Office Building 3221 Senate Bldg. St. Paul, MN 55155 St. Paul, MN 55155

The Honorable Jamie Becker-Finn The Honorable Andrew Mathews 559 State Office Building 2105 Bldg. St. Paul, MN 55155 St. Paul, MN 55155

The Honorable The Honorable Mark Johnson 569 State Office Building 3111 Minnesota Senate Bldg. St. Paul, MN 55155 St. Paul, MN 55155

The Honorable The Honorable 439 State Office Building 3207 Minnesota Senate Bldg. St. Paul, MN 55155 St. Paul, MN 55155

The Honorable The Honorable 329 State Office Building 2215 Minnesota Senate Bldg. St. Paul, MN 55155 St. Paul, MN 55155

RE: Public Safety & Judiciary Omnibus Bill, SF970

Dear Members of the Public Safety & Judiciary Conference Committee:

I want to thank all of you, and your staff, for your collective work this session to construct your respective chambers’ omnibus bills. As the state’s civil rights enforcement agency, our mission is to ensure that all Minnesotans can lead lives of dignity, free from discrimination. The Department has a dedicated team of public servants who are responsible for neutrally investigating charges of discrimination brought by Minnesotans from across the state, as well as enforcing equity and inclusion for over 35,000 state contracts, and conducting statewide civil rights education and outreach. This letter will detail where there are areas of agreement and where there are areas of difference between Governor Walz and Lt. Governor Flanagan’s recommendations for the Department and how that compares to the respective House and Senate omnibus bills.

540 Fairview Ave N, Suite 201  St. Paul, MN 55104  Tel 651.539.1100 MN Relay 711 or 1.800.627.3529  Toll Free 1.800.657.3704  Fax 651.296.9042  mn.gov/mdhr Areas of Agreement

I am grateful that both the House and Senate included similar versions of the Department’s requested operating adjustment, as well as the proposal to adjust our Workforce and Equal Pay Certificate fees.

• Operating Adjustment: Both the House and Senate include our full operating adjustment in FY22-23. However, we urge the Senate to adopt the Governor and House’s full operating adjustment in FY24-25. With eighty percent of the Department’s budget going directly to staff, if the full operating adjustment is not met in both biennia, dedicated staff will be cut in FY24.

• Workforce & Equal Pay Certificate Fee Adjustment: The Department’s certificate fees for large state contactors have not been adjusted since their respective inceptions in 2003 (Workforce) and 2014 (Equal Pay). The Department appreciates that the House and Senate both agree with the Governor’s recommendations to adjust the fees from $150 to $250, for a four-year certificate.

Areas of Difference

The most critical area of difference between the governor’s recommendation for the Department and the House and Senate omnibus bills concerns the request to increase our investigative capacity. Additionally, there are important policies included in Article 6 of the House omnibus, that are not included in the Senate’s bill, which would not only help the Department run more effectively and efficiently, but also help ensure there are less discriminatory outcomes in Minnesota.

Budgetary Differences

• Increase Investigative Capacity: Investigating cases of discrimination is a core department responsibility that is under-resourced and requires increased investment. The governor’s $991,000 recommendation in FY22-23 would have an immediate impact for our Department’s ability to investigate charges of discrimination more efficiently and effectively in order to meet our statutory responsibilities. Although we greatly appreciate the House’s proposal to provide some increased capacity, we strongly urge both the House and Senate to match the governor’s supplemental budget request, with the governor’s budget language. Throughout the state, Minnesotans are experiencing complex cases of discrimination, whether they relate to disability, race, age, religion, or another protected class. The Department requests this additional support to ensure that we are able to do the core department functions of our agency with more efficiency and effectiveness.

• Strengthen Source of Income Protections in Housing: All Minnesotans deserve fair and equal access to housing. We ask that the House and Senate match the governor’s supplemental budget request of $533,000 in FY22-23, which provides the necessary funding capacity to strengthen source of income protections in housing. Policy Differences

We strongly encourage the conferees to develop a holistic public safety and judiciary bill that includes both budget and policy. With the noteworthy increase of bias and discrimination that has occurred throughout the state, particularly with respect to the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community (AAPI), it is imperative that we meet the moment by passing meaningful policies to improve civil rights in Minnesota.

• Preventing Pay Discrimination Act (HF403/SF171): This bill received strong bipartisan support throughout the committee process and on the House Floor. Pay history question bans are proven to be an effective policy measure that can close the gender and racial pay gaps. We urge the Senate to consider this proposal so we can help close the pay gap in Minnesota. • Hate Crimes (HF1691/SF2003): Since last April, over seven percent of calls to our Department involved bias, discrimination, or hate against the AAPI community. In addition to this, the recent vandalization at the Moorhead-Fargo Islamic Community Center helps exemplify the statewide impact that bias and discrimination is having in Minnesota. We must work together to address bias and discrimination, and provide resources to the Department and community organizations to improve reporting so future action can be taken. • Department Technical Bill (HF803/SF729): This bill adopted numerous OLA recommendations to improve the Department’s internal processes. It additionally received unanimous support in the House Judiciary Committee. We urge the conference committee to adopt these noncontroversial provisions so the Department can operate efficiently and effectively. • Interactive Process for Disability (HF2010/SF1939): This proposal has bipartisan authorship across the House and Senate and received unanimous support in the House Judiciary Committee. This is a noncontroversial proposal that ensures state law clearly defines expectations between employers and employees with disabilities with respect to reasonable accommodations. • Compliance in State Contracting (HF441/SF527): This proposal gives the Department an intermediate enforcement tool to utilize if a large state contractor is noncompliant with their Workforce or Equal Pay Certificates. By allowing the Department to levy small fines, up to $5,000, we can ensure that projects continue while being able to better compel contractors into compliance.

What the Department’s Budget Means for Minnesotans

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights protects the civil rights of Minnesotans in every county of our state. Minnesotans turn to the Department if they believe they have experienced discrimination because of a protected class, such as disability or race, or if they experience sexual harassment in the workplace. Throughout the legislative session, I shared several stories in committee about cases our Department recently closed, which exemplify what our budget means for Minnesotans. There is the story of Laura, a military veteran with a service- related disability. After closing her case, we helped ensure she would have access to a workplace reasonable accommodation for her service animal. There’s also the story of Jameisha, a Black woman who was repeatedly racially harassed at work and eventually fired. After closing her case, we worked with her employer to implement systems changes to address and prevent future discrimination. Then there is Kimberly, who was fired for pregnancy discrimination while on parental leave. After closing her case, we worked with the employer to implement policy changes by that employer to prevent a parent from ever being fired because of their pregnancy again. As you continue your work to finalize this budget, I hope that you will keep these Minnesotans and their stories in mind.

I look forward to continuing to work with each of you as we move through the last days of session.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Lucero Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Human Rights