Hennepin County Board - Committees

Remote

Commissioners approved items including:

• Signing the county on to a new round of settlements between the state of Minnesota and opioid manufacturers and retail pharmacy chains. The county is estimated to receive about $33 million over 13 years from this settlement with Teva, Allergan, Walmart, CVS and Walgreens Boots Alliance.
• Accepting $3,250,738 in state funds to expand the county’s mobile mental health services. Jihan Ali, who oversees the program, said calls have doubled in volume since 2020.

The board voted to postpone voting on the termination of local emergency pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Chapter 12, regarding COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. They asked for more information, including a list of rules and ordinances that would be reinstated after the local emergency ends. For example, county employees can currently use negative sick leave under the local emergency policy.

Kareem Murphy, Director of Intergovernmental Relations, gave a presentation on the legislative session, detailing the progress of multiple bonding bills.