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Committee hears brief presentation on stipend bill for people with lived experience; bill laid over
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Summary
Representative Howard introduced House File 4207 to protect small stipends provided to Minnesotans with lived experience who advise grantmaking, saying the measure would prevent stipends from jeopardizing access to benefits; the committee laid the bill over for future consideration.
Representative Howard introduced House File 4207 — part of the MHFA policy package — to allow small stipends for Minnesotans with lived experience who participate in grantmaking decisions. "This is a really small straightforward piece that's modeled after other state programs that have stipends," Representative Howard said, adding the legislation is intended to ensure stipends "don't jeopardize their access to other health care programs."
Vice Chair Kim voiced support, saying lived experience is a valuable tool for designing user-friendly services and urging care to avoid unintended financial consequences that could disqualify people from services. Representative Howard said MHFA has already opened applications and received several hundred applicants and that the stipend provision is intended to expand authentic participation in grantmaking.
The committee laid the bill over for later action and scheduled follow-up as part of the committee's markup process.
