Legislative Commission to End Poverty in Minnesota by 2020 

Passed May 2006. For the first year $250,000 is budgeted to create
an 18 member bi-partisan, bi-cameral commission to develop strategies
to end poverty in Minnesota by 2020. $500,000 will be requested for
the second year and $250,000 for the third year.

Goals

• Identify public policy strategies to eliminate poverty by 2020.
• Recommend short-term policy changes to end childhood
  poverty and to eliminate the racial disparities of poverty.
• Increase engagement with non-government entities.
• Build understanding and consensus around the following
  questions: Who is poor? Why are they poor? What are the
  human societal costs of poverty? How can poverty be eliminated?
  Are current measurements of poverty useful?

Strategies

• Ensure that a broad spectrum of people and perspectives
  from across the state will be heard and engaged, especially
  the people affected by poverty.
• Understand that government is neither solely responsible for
  ending poverty nor removed from that responsibility.
• Investigate the income needs of people with barriers to work
  and the adequacy of wage income in the labor market.
• Build a consensus on strategies that achieve clear goals and
  enjoy bipartisan support.
• Create a political will in the public to support policy and other
  initiatives that increase opportunity for everyone.

Desired Outcomes

• Minnesota leads the nation in developing and implementing a
  statewide initiative to end poverty. The public roles of state
  government, local government, schools, non-profits, employers
  and businesses, faith communities, and philanthropic institutions
  are made clearer and enjoy broad political support.
• Poverty rates in communities of color fall rapidly.
• Poverty rates among children rapidly.
• Overall poverty rates decline steadily and are negligible by 2020.
  

History

The last time Minnesota made a comprehensive attempt to tackle
poverty was in 1986-87 when Governor Perpich established a
Governor's Commission on Poverty. The Commission was charged with
developing short-term recommendations and long-term strategies to
eliminate poverty in Minnesota by the year 2000. The Commission's
work and final report (published in April, 1987) gave momentum to
several policy initiatives including wage subsidies, increased minimum
wage, sliding fee health insurance, refundable tax credits for earned
income, sliding fee child care assistance, and state supplement funding
for Head Start and WIC. Inside the report are the seeds for the
Minnesota Family Investment Plan, Minnesota's early efforts to reform
welfare, emphasizing personal responsibility and anti-poverty work incentives.

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