Good morning and welcome to mid-week Capitol View.
Minnesota DFLers say the new policing bill is just the first step. Tim Pugmire reports : “A police accountability bill that the House and Senate passed in a special session early Tuesday morning is headed for the desk of Gov. Tim Walz for his signature. The legislation was crafted in behind-the-scenes negotiations and took shape quickly following the police killing of George Floyd on Memorial Day. House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, credited the family of Floyd and other Minnesotans killed by police for pushing for legislative action. Hortman said the policing bill is a considerable step forward, but she added that it is not nearly enough. ‘It was important to tell people that their voices were heard,’ she said. ‘It was especially important to tell the families that the work that they’ve been doing to bring these issues to the fore were worth it and we’ve heard them and that their actions mattered. But we’re nowhere near done with the work in this area.’”
Gov. Tim Walz has two big decisions coming up. He’s expected to announce a plan for the coming school year by next Monday. The state Education Department has told school leaders to pretty much prepare for anything, including some combination of in-school and online instruction. And he’s also expected to announce his decision on a mask mandate this week . Walz didn’t disclose the decision but indicated a statewide order was likely, noting that businesses support such a uniform move as do care providers and the state’s health leaders. Walz also recently expressed concern that Minnesotans were lagging on their mask-wearing.
Some good news: Minnesota’s efforts to safeguard those in long-term care facilities is paying off. “Deaths at those facilities drove much of the COVID-19 toll earlier in the pandemic and still represent most of the deaths so far. But efforts since mid-May have led to a major drop in cases and deaths in those most-vulnerable populations. ”We are certainly not taking a victory lap,”Tim Walz said. “The key here was controlling infections. … The numbers are curving in the right direction.”
The president does masks now, and not a moment too soon. From his latest briefing, via NPR : “President Trump took to the White House briefing room on Tuesday to praise his administration's response to the virus that has killed more than 140,000 Americans so far. In a reversal of his recent statements and tone, he acknowledged the severity of the pandemic and urged Americans to comply with preventative measures. ‘It will likely unfortunately get worse before it gets better,’ Trump said in uncharacteristically somber remarks, encouraging Americans to social distance, practice good hygiene and wear masks. The president said his administration is in the process of developing a strategy for the coming months, including developing treatments and vaccines for COVID-19. Trump — who has mostly cast mask usage as a personal choice and declined to wear one himself — urged people to wear face masks, citing a spike of cases in the Sun Belt in recent weeks. ‘Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact,’ he said.”
