Hello Neighbors During Women’s History Month, it’s important to honor the pivotal role our community had in the Women’s Suffrage movement. On August 26, 1920, it officially became legal for women to vote in the United States. On August 27, 1920, nearly 90 women registered to vote in South St. Paul for a water bond referendum. Margaret Newburgh of South St. Paul is credited as being the first woman to vote that day.

Ratifying the 19th Amendment was a historic win for women’s equality in the United States, but women of color continued to experience impediments to participate in their constitutional right to vote. The work still continues today to make sure all Minnesotans can exercise their right to vote. I’m proud to continue the Minnesotan legacy of accessible voting by introducing SF 499 which would establish early voting and help close voting disparities in Minnesota.

Minnesota Income Tax Filing and Payment Grace Period to May 17 In following with the IRS, the Minnesota Department of Revenue has announced a grace period for taxpayers filing their annual Minnesota Individual Income Tax return for tax year 2020. Those taxpayers now have until May 17, 2021, to file and make their payments without any penalty or interest. Read more >>> This grace period does not include individual estimated tax payments.For information about filing and paying, see Individual Income Tax.

Senator Bigham Statement on MPCA Request to Address Statewide PFAS Contamination The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) held a press conference this week to discuss the emerging issue of PFAS contamination in closed landfills across the state.

Recent monitoring and testing from the MPCA have found PFAS contamination in 98 out of 101 closed landfills in the state of Minnesota. 60 sites currently exceed the state’s health and safety guidelines, with 15 of those sites experiencing contamination exceeding guidelines by 10 times or greater. These sites are located across the entire state, in rural and metro communities alike. MPCA officials stated that limited resources and capacity have prevented them from testing groundwater in many areas surrounding closed landfills, so the full scope of the issue is not yet fully known.

The scale of contamination laid out by the MPCA makes it clear that we must take urgent action at the Legislature to provide the resources necessary to address this problem. We have a strategic guide in Minnesota’s PFAS Blueprint of the immediate, short- and long-term steps we can take to manage this contamination, but it requires the Legislature to fully fund it. I will work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure that we provide the MPCA with the funds and flexibility to get this done!

Senator Bigham Introduces Tax Credit for Brewers, Liquor Retailers, and Wholesalers I introduced bipartisan legislation that would provide a temporary tax credit for Minnesota’s brewers, liquor retailers, and wholesalers who had to buy back or dump their products, or purchase Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) supplies.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a tremendous challenge to industries throughout the state, and few were disrupted as greatly as our brewers, liquor stores, and wholesalers. Minnesota needs to take a strong look at many aspects of our liquor laws, but this bill is something everyone can agree needs to move forward now. Our brewers and the industry around them are a big part of our communities from Twin Harbors to Hastings to Worthington and everywhere in between. SF 2064 can throw a lifeline to help out an emerging industry in Minnesota that has been one of those hardest hit by the pandemic.

Many wholesalers in the liquor industry had to buy kegs back from bars and restaurants over the past 12 months. On average, between returned kegs (which would have been dumped) and dumping straight from the tank, breweries lost between $5,000 and $45,000 over the course of 2020. In addition, breweries currently spend anywhere from $300$2,000 per month on PPE, as well as $10,000 and $25,000 on infrastructure and equipment to comply with the restrictions. This includes air filters, tables, partitions, tents, new point-of-sale systems to accommodate touch-less sales and reservations, and more.

COVID-19 Vaccine Update Because Minnesota hit the over 70% vaccination rate for those age 65 and older, and due to the increase in vaccine supply, the COVID-19 vaccine eligibility opened to the next two phases. Now, the vaccines eligibility opened to phases 1b and 1c at the same time, which will include an estimated 1 million Minnesotans.

Read Across South St. Paul Like most everything since the pandemic came to Minnesota, Read Across South St. Paul was done a little differently this year. I was still able to virtually share one of my favorite books to read to children, Grace for President! Thank you to the City of South St. Paul for putting this together!

It’s an honor to represent you at the Capitol. Thank you!

State Senator Karla Bigham