Dear Friends,
For those of you that aren’t quite ready for spring, it looks like we are in for a few more snowy days of winter this weekend. Safe travels to anyone on the roads this weekend, and please remember to drive slowly and cautiously with this round of snow coming in. Before the weekend, I wanted to send out a quick update with some news from the Capitol.
Following the Easter/Passover break, we returned to the Capitol on Monday for the final six weeks of the legislative session. We are continuing to explore our options in order to determine the best route to take on some of this year’s big issues, such as federal tax conformity and bonding projects. I will be sure to keep you informed as the major proposals take shape in the weeks to come.
In the House Health and Human Service Finance Committee on Tuesday, I presented a bill I am authoring to combat Minnesota’s growing opioid crisis. In 2017, the legislature established and funded opioid abuse prevention pilot projects to use controlled substance care teams to reduce community rates of opioid addiction. My bill this year would provide an additional $2 million in funding to allow these pilot projects to continue carrying out their important work.
The funding in my bill would be administered through Little Falls’ CHI St. Gabriel’s to be used for various prevention pilot projects around the state, as well as for its commitment to educating other rural clinics on strategies to fight opioid abuse. The controlled substance care team at St. Gabriel’s has been an early leader in our state’s opioid abuse prevention efforts; their outstanding work has made a huge impact in fighting opioid abuse and helping save lives.
While there is no easy fix to such a serious, complicated problem, providing greater resources to those on the front lines of this crisis is an important step we can take in our ongoing efforts. I’ll continue to advocate for this bill and issue, and will provide updates as progress is made.
If you have any questions or concerns about what’s happening in St. Paul, please contact me by email at rep.ron.kresha@house.mn or by phone at 651-296-4247. My door is always open, and I appreciate your feedback and input.
Have a great weekend,
Ron