Dear Neighbor,
On May 2, the House passed legislation that would allow the State of Minnesota to retain blood samples from newborn babies. While I’m a strong advocate for medical research that has the potential to save lives, I voted against this legislation because it allows genetic samples collected at birth to be obtained by the State of Minnesota without parental consent. Baby DNA should not become the property of the state without parental consent. Generally, data privacy concerns are not a partisan issue at the legislature. Unfortunately, the author of this legislation wasn’t open to the concerns of data privacy advocates. It’s disappointing we could not have come together to craft legislation that would protect the rights of parents while allowing for important medical research as well.
LEGISLATOR PAY INCREASE
As you might recall during the 2013 Legislative Session, Democrats voted to put a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot for 2016 to set up an independent Legislative Salary Council to make decisions about raising legislator pay. On Thursday, Democrats put forward legislation that makes no reference to this council in the amendment’s title in an effort to hide what this proposed constitutional amendment would actually do. Once the bill passed, the DFL House majority leader and the author of bill “congratulated each other and exchanged a high-five after the vote tallies came in,” according to the Mesabi Daily News. I, along with all of my House Republican colleagues, voted against this attempt to deceive voters.
LEGISLATORS UNITING TO VOLUNTEER
On Tuesday, April 29, I joined a bipartisan group of legislators at Higher Ground in Minneapolis. The Higher Ground Shelter is a homeless shelter operated by Catholic Charities and is an emergency homeless shelter near downtown Minneapolis that offers a warm place to rest and spend nighttime hours. It was rewarding to take some time away from legislative activities in St. Paul and help serve those in need.
COON RAPIDS LIONS CLUB
I had the privilege of attending the 60th Anniversary Dinner for the Coon Rapids Lions Club on Saturday, May 3. It was an honor for me to address a group of citizens who have done a world of good for our community for decades. Thank you to all the members of the Coon Rapids Lions Club for your wonderful work!
MINNESOTA FAMILY COUNCIL
On Tuesday, May 6, I was honored to receive the 2014 Family Champion Award from the Minnesota Family Council along with Senator Paul Gazelka of Nisswa. I’m deeply appreciative of this honor and will continue to fight to strengthen families in our state.
As always, I’m interested in your feedback. Please feel free to contact me by e-mail at Rep.Peggy.Scott@House.MN or contact my office at 651-296-4231. You can also send me mail to my office address: 201 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.
Sincerely,
Peggy