Legislative Update
The 2009 legislative session wrapped up at midnight without a resolution to the budget shortfall. The Governor has announced his plan to unilaterally un-allot nearly $1 billion to meet the constitutional requirement for a balanced budget. He also has the option of calling a special session to work out a compromise. Read on for the Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly.
The Good News
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act/ Stimulus Bill) sent $23.5 million to Minnesota for a new Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing program. The funds go to certain jurisdictions with the remainder going to DHS/OEO for the balance of state.
| MN State Program |
$10,865,236 |
| Dakota County |
$704,252 |
| Duluth |
$ 1,162,800 |
| Hennepin County |
$ 993,011 |
| Minneapolis |
$ 5,520,902 |
| St. Louis County |
$ 1,001, 832 |
| St. Paul |
$ 3,298,163 |
| Total |
$23,546,196 |
(Of the balance of state portion, the Legislature allocated, to the extent possible, $3m for support services and $2.5m for homeless youth. Watch the MCH website and future alerts for further information on applying for these funds.)
Runaway & Homeless Youth Act – funded at $218,000 for the biennium – down from the $8m MCH wanted and down from the $1m from the last biennium, but a huge win in this tough economic climate. Great work by the Youth Moving Forward Coalition!
Long-term Homeless Support Services – a large number of groups advocated for $60m as the identified need; the legislature added $3m to the base funding for a total of $13m for the biennium
Emergency Shelter – Base funding of $700,000 was preserved.
Transitional Housing – Base funding of $5,476,000 was preserved.
Police/Provider Outreach – The program was recognized as very important but not prioritized with very limited general fund dollars because an increase in federal Byrne grant funds to the Department of Public Safety can be directed to this program. MCH President Monica Nilsson is working with Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth to access funding to continue these important programs.
Discount Transit Passes Pilot – The St. Stephen’s Human Rights Program, their educators, and over 400 people experiencing homelessness testifying via video and in person, passed a pilot project which allows certain agencies that serve the homeless to buy bus cards and tokens at a 50% discount from 9/1/09 to 3/15/10.
The Bad News
One-time funding for Emergency Shelter ($600,000), Transitional Housing ($750,000), Runaway & Homeless Youth Act ($1,000,000), and Police/Provider Outreach ($300,000) were not re-funded, except as noted above.
The Very Ugly News
The Governor used his line-item veto authority to eliminate funding for General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) effective July 1, 2010. There are approximately 30,000 people per month on GAMC. The program is for low-income adults who do not yet qualify for federal programs such as Medical Assistance or Medicare. Often people go on GAMC while they are waiting to be certified as “disabled” so that they can receive Medical Assistance. To be on GAMC you have to have less than $1000 in assets and have less than $650 a month in income.
The Work Continues…
MCH and our allied organizations are already planning next steps. The budget still needs to be balanced. We believe the lowest-income Minnesotans have already sacrificed enough. Watch for future action alerts and join us on Facebook (Make Room at the Inn).
A note about staffing at the Coalition
These are hard economic times for us all. The downturn in the economy has affected staffing levels at the Coalition as well. But the dedicated board and staff see this recession as an opportunity to re-assess and re-set. We’ve had to down-size temporarily but the board has been working on a new strategic plan that will allow us to work more effectively and efficiently. We look forward to connecting with our Provider Associates, funders, and allies over the next several weeks as we move forward on our strategic planning. This year, as the Coalition marks our 25th anniversary, we are more determined than ever to make sure we end homelessness once and for all. Please feel free to contact Liz Kuoppala, Interim Executive Director, at 218.744.2098 with any questions or concerns.
