Dear Friends,
On Thursday, I presented a bill before the Greater Minnesota Economic and Workforce Development Committee that will go a long way in bringing internet access in Greater Minnesota into the 21st century.
My bill makes a $35,000,000 appropriation to the state’s border-to-border broadband program while also seeking to make the broadband grant process more transparent and flexible.
Expanding broadband access to areas that need it most means more opportunities for families throughout Greater Minnesota and I am excited about the possibilities that this bill presents.
As a strong supporter of broadband expansion, I look forward to working with my colleagues to see this bill become law—more to follow!
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Here I am pictured at Thursday's hearing with Jason Romain, a local resident speaking in support of broadband expansion
Relief for Iron Rangers
On Thursday, the House passed its first piece of legislation this session—bringing a much needed unemployment extension to steelworkers on the Iron Range.
This is great news for 2,111 miners who are out of work on the Iron Range right now.
Also included in the bill are corrective measures to right-size the state's overfunded unemployment insurance trust fund, which currently is carrying a nearly all-time high $1.5 billion balance—yes, a billion.
This action will help local businesses save money and invest in their employees, especially on the range.
Staying in Touch
It was a busy week with a number of folks taking the time to visit me here in St. Paul. Among groups that visited this week were home health workers advocating for the 5% campaign (which I support), folks from Ridgewater, Co-op members, AFSCME, and many, many others. I love seeing people from home stop in!
My promise to you when I ran for office was that I would roll up my sleeves and work hard for the priorities our communities care most about. With this in mind, please make sure to contact me to let me know your thoughts on issues that matter most to you.
I can be reached by phone at 651-296-6206 or via email at rep.dave.baker@house.mn.
Have a great weekend!
Dave