Gov. Tim Walz proposes third phase of budget plan

INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, Minn. (KTTC) – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz visited an Inver Grove Heights elementary school Tuesday to announce the third phase of his “Budget to Move Minnesota Forward” plan.

The first two announcements focused on investing in local jobs and creating more economic opportunity, which includes millions of dollars in state stimulus payments to families.

The plan outlined granting more access to preschool and childcare programs like Head Start. Walz said they are going to do this through scholarships and other financial assistance to families who can’t afford childcare or preschool. He said his plan will allow 23,000 children to access pre-k.

The plan includes expanding family and medical leave. It also gives workers up to 48 hours of leave per year for families to use for medical reasons, care for a child during a school closure, or other kinds of wellbeing assistance.

“We need this,” Walz said. “It’s not just this administration saying that, it’s not just child advocates saying that, it’s the states’ businesses saying that. That if Minnesota wants to stay competitive, we need to continue to nurture, build out and reimagine what early childhood looks like what childcare looks like, what pre-k looks like, and what our schools are doing. They’re asking us to do that because they know our future depends upon it.”

The plan also includes investing $183 million into school lunch programs, and putting millions of dollars into an emergency assistance fund to help college students with expenses, investing $77 million to expand mental health help for kids and families and education professionals. The proposal aims to stop interruptions to state Medical Assistance coverage that people aged 21 and under sometimes see and prevents them from seeing a doctor.

The complete breakdown released from the governor’s office can be found here.