Greetings,
We just finished our second week of the legislative session and time is flying by. There are eight weeks left in this year’s session. I wanted to pass along a few bits of news from St. Paul before the weekend.
Unemployment Insurance
Yesterday, the House passed a bill to give struggling steelworkers on the Iron Range unemployment relief. Thanks to a broad bipartisan vote of 104-25, we passed an extension of unemployment benefits for impacted and eligible out-of-work Iron Range employees by an additional 26 weeks. It’s been difficult as families on the Range have faced joblessness and hardship. I’m proud to vote to provide this assistance to our mining families. Mining is an important industry for our Minnesota economy.
Along with the unemployment relief, the House version of this bill eased the burden on small businesses around Minnesota by temporarily modifying the unemployment insurance trust fund. Our main-street businesses will save over $250 million while we make necessary fixes to this reserve.
Constituent Meetings
One of the great things about session is that it brings groups and individuals from our area to St. Paul to share ideas. I recently met with a number of veterans from central Minnesota to discuss issues in our veteran communities. I’m proud to support a tax plan that would allow our veterans to exclude military pay and pensions from state income tax.
Also, I met with staff, parents and students from the St. Cloud Boys and Girls Club to discuss their initiatives for helping youth in St. Cloud and the surrounding area. This group does a fantastic job of assisting and encouraging young people to be their best.
I also met with leaders from Stearns County to discuss the need to provide more funding for roads and bridges in Minnesota, which would also help our local area.
Finally, I was joined in St. Paul this week by members of the Central Minnesota Builders Association to visit about issues that are important to the building industry.
Please Contact Me
Thank you for letting me be your voice at the Capitol. If you ever have a question or would just like to voice your opinion, please call or email me at your convenience. I hope to hear from you.
Best,
Tim