Dear Friends,
Last week I toured northwest Minnesota with the Capitol Investment committee, learning more about infrastructure and other critical projects for our communities. These bonding tours are always a great way to see our beautiful state! Next week we will continue our tour of Minnesota by heading to the northeast region.
Update on SROs
I know many parents, teachers, administrators, and school boards continue to monitor the Student Resource Officer (SRO) issue. As a reminder, language was changed to the student disciplinary policy last session that limits the ability of an SRO to keep our students safe. Over 40 law enforcement organizations have pulled their SROs from schools because they need clarity on this language.
Republicans have been calling on the Governor to call us back for Special Session so we can fix this language and keep our students safe. Unfortunately, those calls are falling on deaf ears. This week, the House Republican leads on the Education and Public Safety Committees sent a letter to their respective chairs asking them to hold a hearing with law enforcement so we can begin working together to address this issue.
Attorney General Keith Ellison released a second opinion on the law on Wednesday, further demonstrating the need to clarify this language in law. We cannot wait until February to solve this problem. The safety of our students is too important to wait.
Cold Weather Rule
I also want to remind you about Minnesota’s Cold Weather Rule. This protects residential customers who are having difficulty paying their gas bill from having gas service disconnected from October 1 through April 30. To avoid disconnection or to have service reconnected, you must either pay your bill in full or call Center Point Energy to start a payment plan. More information can be found here.