Dear neighbors,
Today is the first day of the 2022 legislative session! I’m excited to get to work and to continue representing you at the Capitol.
Authoring New Legislation
I introduced several new bills today, including legislation that would:
- Provide the funding needed to add the South St. Paul library to the Dakota County library system (HF 2886 and HF 2887).
- Help improve pedestrian and bicycle safety in Dakota County (HF 2885 and HF 2888).
- Modify the way the lottery in lieu tax is allocated (HF 2917).
2022 Education Plan
Every Minnesotan deserves access to affordable child care and early learning, a great K-12 education, and the opportunity to pursue higher education. Last week, House DFLers released a plan to ensure all students have the resources and support they need to thrive. Under this plan, we’ll work to:
- Expand access to child care and early learning so every child can get a great start in life.
- Increase funding for special education and English language learner programs.
- Provide additional resources for students with disabilities.
- Recruit and retain more teachers of color and Indigenous teachers.
- Lower the cost of college.
You can read more about this plan here.
Free COVID-19 Resources
The federal government and the State of Minnesota began distributing free N95 and KN95 masks last week. Millions of the high-quality masks are in route to schools, pharmacies, child care centers, public health agencies, community centers, and other sites that will give them to Minnesotans for free. If you have trouble finding free masks in our community, please let me know. I’ll do what I can to help you find a local distribution site.
Stay In Touch
There are several ways to stay updated during the legislative session. You can watch all of our hearings and floor sessions live at https://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/Live. These videos are posted on YouTube as well.
House Public Information Services is a good, nonpartisan source of news and typically publishes several articles a day. You can find these updates on House Public Information Services’ Facebook page or at https://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/sessiondaily/.
If you’d like more frequent updates from me, you can follow my Facebook page. You can reach me by email at rep.rick.hansen@house.mn or call (651) 296-6828 if you have any questions or feedback. I look forward to working with you this year!
Sincerely,
Rick Hansen
State Representative