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Dear neighbors,
The 2020 legislative session begins on Tuesday, February 11. I hope you’ll continue sharing feedback and ideas with me as our work at the Capitol gets underway!
South St. Paul Town Hall This Saturday
Sen. Karla Bigham, Sen. Matt Klein, Rep. Anne Claflin, and I are holding a town hall on Saturday because we want to hear from you before the Legislature reconvenes next week. I hope you can join us at South St. Paul City Hall.
Introducing New Bills
I’ve already started introducing new legislation. Some of the bills that I’ve filed recently would provide grants to the City of Mendota. One is for the cost of a water pressure valve installed on a city water main (HF 3036). Another would reimburse the city for repairing roads that were damaged by excessive rainfall (HF 3037). The third would go towards extending a water main so Mendota residents could connect with the Saint Paul Regional Water Services system (HF 3038). I’ve also introduced legislation that creates protocols to follow when captive deer farms close or are transferred to new owners (HF 2972). These procedures would help contain the spread of chronic wasting disease.
Please stay tuned for updates on these bills and other legislation that I plan to introduce this year.
Obtaining a REAL ID
I’ve received several questions about REAL ID lately, so I wanted to provide some information that might be helpful.
Starting on October 1, Minnesotans will need a REAL ID to board a plane or enter certain federal buildings. Here’s what you need to bring to the DMV when applying for your REAL ID:
- One document providing proof of identity and date of birth. This can be an unexpired passport, a certified copy of a birth certificate, or a certified certificate of citizenship. You may also need a certified marriage certificate if your name is different than on your birth certificate.
- Proof of a Social Security number. This can be your Social Security card, a federal W2, or a paystub with your name, address, and Social Security number.
- Two documents providing proof of Minnesota residency. This can be many documents, but the most commonly used ones are an unexpired driver’s license, a credit card or bank account statement from the last 90 days, or a federal or state income tax return from the most recent filing year. Utility bills will not be accepted if more than one name is on the bill.
More information about REAL ID, including a complete breakdown of acceptable documents to bring when applying, is available here. If you encounter any difficulties during the process, please feel free to call my office and I’ll do what I can to assist you.
Update: Social Security Card Replacement
In a previous email, I mentioned that Minnesota is one of eight states where people can’t get a duplicate Social Security card online. Constituents told me that this service would be useful, so I looked into why it isn’t offered. I learned that Minnesota’s data practices provisions make it difficult to perform automatic checks against state-issued IDs, and the ability to do automatic checks is necessary for processing online applications. I’ll continue exploring what changes are necessary to provide this service to Minnesotans.
Update: OLA Evaluations, Audits, and Special Reviews
The Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) is currently conducting several evaluations, audits, and special reviews. The Program Evaluation Division is evaluating six topics that were selected by the Legislative Audit Commission: Compensatory Education Revenue, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, Personal Care Assistance, Pesticide Regulation, the Public Utilities Commission Public Participation Processes, and Safety in State Correctional Facilities. More information on each topic is available here. Full reports will be released in February and early March. The Financial Audit Division is working on the Federal Single Audit, a federal mandate, and several audits of individual state agencies and programs. A list of audits and when they will be released is available here. The OLA is also working on four special reviews. You can learn more about these investigations here. I hope this information is useful for tracking the OLA’s progress throughout the year.
Regardless of whether you’re able to make it to the town hall this weekend, please feel free to share any questions you have about the upcoming legislative session. You can reach me at 651-296-6828 or rep.rick.hansen@house.mn.
Sincerely,
Rick Hansen
State Representative
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