Ranked Choice VotingToday, United States Congresswoman Mary Peltola (Alaska – At Large) will testify in the Elections Finance and Policy Committee in favor of The Protect and Advance Democracy Act, a bill to expand ranked choice voting to more local governments and create a taskforce to determine how it could be implemented. In 2022, Peltola defeated former Gov. Sarah Palin in an election that utilized ranked choice voting. The bill is authored by my colleague over in New Hope, Rep. Cedrick Frazier, and I have signed on as a co-author. Ranked choice voting has been regarded by experts as one of the top reforms to strengthen our democracy. It empowers voters to rank candidates in order of preference and ensures candidates earn majority support to win. This will be a fantastic step for Minnesota. Inflow & InfiltrationThis might be the dirtiest work we do all year. This week, I presented a bill I authored, HF 638, in the Environment Committee. This bill addresses infiltration of groundwater that enters the sanitary sewer system through defects in sanitary sewer pipes, and inflow, which is the addition of clear water into the sanitary sewer system. Both inflow and infiltration are dangerous, because they can overload the sewer’s sanitary system and cause backups in our homes. This is actually something I had to deal with in my own home, and I would not wish it on my worst enemy. This bill would set up two grant programs, one for public and one for private sewer lines to tackle the problem at its source so that people don’t have to deal with cleaning up sewer water in their homes. Service LearningAnother bill I presented is HF 160, which I brought before the Education Policy committee. This bill establishes a service-learning specialist position at the Department of Education and a grant program for schools to provide students service-learning opportunities. It will help to more fully integrate service-learning into our education system. According to the Minnesota Department of Education, service-learning is “a form of experiential learning whereby students apply content knowledge, critical thinking and good judgment to address genuine community needs.” This bill emphasizes the role of young people as active learners and leaders and encourages the building of relationships and social-emotional skills. Passing this bill will create greater opportunity and success for young people in Minnesota. Legislative Town HallMy colleagues Rep. Cedrick Frazier and Sen. Ann Rest and I are holding another Legislative Town Hall on March 25th from 4-5pm at the Crystal Community Center. You can RSVP to the Facebook event here. All are welcome. I look forward to seeing you!  |