Bill HF5487, SF5222

Session 2024

Bill Introduced By
Kirsten Hillery
Winona Area Public Schools
House

House Author
Kirsten Hillery

A bill for an act relating to

Library services for blind and print disabled persons awareness requirements modified.

Committee Hearing

Path	Committee	Action
1	Health and Human Services Committee	Passed
2	Commerce Committee	No Action Taken
3	Education Committee	No Action Taken
4	Ways and Means and Taxes Committee	No Action Taken
5	Rules Committee	No Action Taken

Legislative Action

	Action
House	No Action Taken
Senate	No Action Taken
Governor	No Action Taken

Select Amendment

1.1         A bill for an act
1.2         relating to education; modifying requirements to bring awareness of library services
1.3         for blind and print disabled persons;amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, section
1.4         134.31, subdivision 6; Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 134.31,
1.5         subdivision 4a.
1.6         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7         Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 134.31, subdivision 4a, is amended
1.8         to read:
1.9                        Subd. 4a.Services to people with visual and physical disabilities. (a) The Minnesota
1.10       Department of Education shall provide specialized services to people with visual and physical
1.11       disabilities through the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library under a cooperative
1.12       plan with the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled of the Library of
1.13       Congress.
1.14       (b) The Department of Education is responsible for bringing awareness of services for
1.15       blind and print disabled persons and is encouraged to develop an online, fully accessible
1.16       website for statewide resources, services, and information available to blind and print
1.17       disabled persons, and assurances to maintain updated documents and publications. The
1.18       Department of Education must consult with the Department of Employment and Economic
1.19       Development regarding vocational rehabilitation services and state services for the blind,
1.20       visually impaired, and deafblind to facilitate the achievement of vocational and personal
1.21       independence, including braille, audio, and e-text and large print transcription services. The
1.22       Department of Education must consult with the Department of Health, the Department of
1.23       Human Services, and other departments and state agencies to provide additional awareness
1.24       of resources for blind and print disabled persons.

2.1         Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 134.31, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
2.2                        Subd. 6.Advisory committee. (a) The commissioner shall appoint an advisory committee
2.3         of five members to advise the staff of the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library on
2.4         long-range plans and library services. Members shall be people who use the library. Section
2.5         15.059 governs this committee.
2.6         (b) The advisory committee must consult with the Department of Education in advising
2.7         on bringing awareness of the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library to blind and print
2.8         disabled persons.

Author
Kirsten Hillery
Winona Area Public Schools
House

Essay

Kirsten Hillery
Model Legislature 2024
HF 5487 Pro-Con Essay
Pro-Con Essay
Most of us read a newspaper, magazine, or book every day; however, reading often isn’t
as easy for those who are blind or print disabled. HF 5487 would bring legislation to Minnesota
not only ensuring that more resources are accessible for blind and print disabled persons but also,
more importantly, that the growing number of people who need accessible resources are aware of
them. This bill would give responsibility to the Department of Education for bringing awareness
to and educating people about the resources available for blind and print disabled persons. One
focus of this bill is to create a fully accessible online website to provide a large body of information
on the statewide services, resources, and publications that are available yet not well known. This
bill will also encourage communication between departments, bringing more factors into
consideration for those who are blind. Lastly, this bill would help us prepare for the future;
according to an article from JAMA (the Journal of the American Medical Association) in 2015
there were just over a million people blind in the US, but this number is predicted to grow to
over 2 million by 2050, demonstrating the growing need for access to resources for the blind.
Overall, HF 5487 seems like a no-brainer, providing more resources to blind people, whose
population is predicted to double in just 35 years, as well as increasing communication between
departments and educating society about the resources available for blind and print-disabled
people so that they can better contribute to society. HF 4587 would make a world of difference
for those who are blind and print-disabled.
HF 4587 would provide more resources to blind people, but in the process, it could add to
current workloads. This bill might be unnecessary as some resources are already available for
blind and print disabled persons such as the “Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library” and
some blind and print disabled people may have someone who can read materials to them.
Another piece to consider is that this bill only directly benefits a small percentage of the
population and some might believe that the time and attention should be put towards something
else. A most critical aspect of this bill is that as it is currently this task would be added to current
positions as it has no funding and so would be added to other projects. Overall, arguments
against HF 4587 include that as it has no funding it would be added to current workloads and that
there are already some resources for the relatively small number of people who are blind or print
disabled.
Pro: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/2523780
Con: https://education.mn.gov/mde/fam/mbtbl/

Title	Audience	Status	Created Sort ascending
Vote in Health and Human Services Committee on HF5487 SF5222	Health and Human Services Committee	Closed	11/22/2024 - 10:53am

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