2011 Legislative Goals

2011 Legislative Goals

his draft was approved by the JRLC Board and referred for ratification to the Boards of Directors of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, the Islamic Center of Minnesota, the Minnesota Catholic Conference, and the Minnesota Council of Churches.

Agriculture and Rural Communities Our state must do more to improve the vitality of rural communities. JRLC endorses programs to assist beginning farmers, to support sustainable agriculture, to build infrastructure of local agricultural markets, and to ensure that rural communities have full access to education, transportation, and telecommunication resources. (See JRLC’s Gifts of the Earth, 2000.) Criminal Justice We support restoration of funding for the court system, including public defenders, to ensure equal justice under the law. We endorse funding for family supports and restorative justice initiatives that hold offenders accountable yet enable reintegration. The right to vote should be restored to persons with felony convictions upon release from prison or jail. We support automatic expungement of arrest records for non-person crimes when proceedings are resolved in favor of the arrestee. JRLC opposes capital punishment in Minnesota. (See JRLC’s Felon Voting Rights, 2008 and Crime and Justice in Minnesota, 1992.) Early Care and Education Minnesota should fully fund child care assistance programs that allow children to spend their earliest years in stimulating, nurturing environments where they can learn, thrive, and prepare for success in school and life. We support quality early education for every child, making sure that all our children are ready to begin kindergarten on an even footing. (See JRLC’s Childcare Assistance, 2005.) Eliminating Poverty JRLC supports initiatives that enhance earnings for low-income Minnesotans. We support an increase in the minimum wage so that every full-time worker can, at a minimum, earn a poverty-level income for a family of three, about $8.80/hour. We favor increased income benefits for people in poverty and we recommend expansion of Minnesota’s Working Family Credit to make sure earnings can secure basic needs. (See JRLC’sMinimum Wage, 2005 and Taxes and Justice in Minnesota, 1992.) We also support a community-based, comprehensive public benefit outreach and enrollment system. We support the removal of most asset-tests and urge the creation of asset development accounts. Minnesota should also adopt a realistic household poverty measure and a clear set of benchmarks by which we can measure progress toward ending poverty. (See JRLC’s No Poor Among You…, 2010.) Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability We must protect the integrity of creation and our public health by ensuring the quality of the natural environment and food sources. We must continue to invest in sustainability — in clean, renewable energy, and we must reduce emission of greenhouse gases. (See JRLC’sEcology Positions, 1997.) Gambling We oppose the expansion of gambling or increased state reliance on gambling proceeds. (See JRLC’s No Expansion of State-Authorized Gambling, 2005.)

Health Care Minnesota must move swiftly toward a common, universal coverage system by expanding public and private programs, mandating comprehensive insurance coverage (including mental health and dental), and adopting risk pooling and publicly sponsored financing to make sure every Minnesotan receives the health care they need. (See JRLC’s Health Care and Justice in Minnesota, 2008.) Housing and Healthy Neighborhoods Our state can play a strong role in supporting safe towns and neighborhoods free of both environmental pollution and crime, where all families have access to clean air and water, and where children can play outside free of fear. We support appropriations to operate supportive housing programs to address and prevent homelessness. We support the rehabilitation and development of affordable housing, especially targeting individuals and families under 30% of the median income. Housing must be free of lead, mercury, and other toxic substances that affect children more adversely than adults. We support legislation that protects consumers from predatory lending practices. (See JRLC’s The Faithful City, 1999.) Human Rights JRLC recommends that the state require school boards to adopt policies that prohibit harassment, bullying, intimidation, and violence based on characteristics such as actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, physical characteristics, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. (See JRLC's To Secure These Rights: Confronting Bigotry in Minnesota, 1988, and Human Rights with Regard to Sexual Orientation, 1993.) Hunger We must ensure that SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly Food Stamps) benefits and WIC programs are accessible to all who need them. We support programs that provide easier access to healthy foods and nutrition programs for children and their families. (See JRLC’s Justice for All: Confronting Hunger in Minnesota, 1997.) Impartial Judiciary JRLC recommends that the state’s constitution be amended to allow for the following method for selecting judges to the district and appellate courts: merit nominations by a merit selection commission; gubernatorial appointment from a list of candidates prepared by the commission; performance evaluation by a performance evaluation commission; retention elections by the public. (See JRLC’s Selecting Impartial Judges, 2008.) Tax Policy The solution to our state’s financial crisis must include raising sufficient revenue to fund social infrastructure, education, and basic human needs. Tax justice means that our state-local revenue system is progressive — meaning based upon ability to pay, and that revenues are sufficient to build the common good. (See JRLC’s Taxes and Justice in Minnesota, 1992.)