Neighbors,
I hope you had a wonderful summer and are having a smooth transitioning to fall and back to school schedules!
I wanted to touch base on several events the House DFL is putting together this month.
The cost of insulin and prescription drugs
This month, we are holding a series of Community Conversations outside of the Capitol to address the soaring cost of insulin and prescription drugs.
The meetings, in Burnsville, Richfield, St. Cloud, and Shorewood, are an opportunity for Minnesotans to share personal stories, learn about solutions under discussion at the Legislature, and put pressure on Big Pharma to end price gouging.
We’re concluding the meetings with a formal public hearing at the Capitol on September 26 to discuss what we learned and how to move forward. The House Speaker announced this week that an emergency insulin bill will be ready for a formal hearing by that time.
Mini Session
This fall, the Minnesota House of Representatives will be on the road! From October 2-4, we’ll be holding a historical mini-session in Winona and the surrounding communities. Southeastern Minnesota will host legislators as a number of committee hearings, roundtable discussions, and informative tours will take place in Winona, Austin, and Rochester.
Though the Minnesota House doesn’t officially reconvene until February 2020, the mini-session offers a chance for my colleagues and I to see our work through a different lens outside of St. Paul. The last mini-session was in 1997 in Willmar, and we’re hoping our work this year restarts the tradition of holding offsite hearings.
Be Heard on Cannabis
We’re inviting Minnesotans to join the conversation about adult-use cannabis. Whether you support the issue or not, we want to hear your perspective.
We will consider its risks, as well as the effects for veterans and other people who rely on it to treat PTSD or chronic pain, consider the law enforcement perspective, and impacts for the thousands of minor offenders who have been swept up in our criminal justice system.
We want to hear what Minnesotans think, which is why we launched statewide Community Conversations on Cannabis to hear from people in every corner of our state. You can sign up for updates, take the Speaker’s cannabis survey, and find a community conversation near you at a new website here.
Climate Action Caucus
Climate change is one of the top issues that I hear about from community members, especially young people concerned about our future. People from across the state are organizing in their communities and urging legislators to take action this week. On Friday, hundreds of Minnesota students will kick off Climate Action Week by participating in the worldwide Youth Climate Strike.
My colleagues and I are standing in solidarity with the students as they prepare to strike. To show our support, we’ve formed a new Climate Action Caucus. This dedicated group of legislators, which I’m proud to work with, will work with Minnesotans on a comprehensive plan to fight climate change and create a future in which we all thrive.
Please continue to reach out with your thoughts and questions. I enjoy hearing from you, and hope to see you around!
Sincerely,
Rep. Michael V. Nelson
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