Dear Friends,
I hope your summer is going well. I've been staying busy meeting with different community groups and talking about our work during the 2015 session. This week I was able to attend the Minnesota Corn Grower's Association district meeting over in Austin, as well as a Lion's Club lunch in Albert Lea. I love these meetings because they give me a chance to hear what issues on your minds and to get feedback about what was passed this year.
If you have an event or meeting you'd like me to stop by, please don't hesitate to email me and let me know about it. Reach me any time at
rep.peggy.bennett@house.mn or call my office at
651-296-8216.
Child Protection Task Force
I was honored to have been appointed by Speaker Kurt Daudt to the new Child Protection Legislative Task Force. This task force was created this past legislative session to review reforms passed in 2015 to improve Minnesota's child protection system, and look at additional reforms we can potentially pass next year.
The reforms passed this session were part of recommendations made by the Governor's Task Force, formed in response to tragic cases that highlighted a system that wasn't working the way it needed to with children falling through the cracks. These stories are heartbreaking and a reminder that we need to do better to keep all kids safe and out of harm's way. I hope to put my teaching experience to good use—educators and school staff can be some of the most helpful partners in the child protection system because they work with kids each day and can spot signs of abuse or neglect.
The legislative task force is set to holds its first meeting next month, and will be issuing a report in February. I will keep you updated on our progress and what reforms we are able to put forward for 2016.
Have a great weekend!
Peggy Bennett
State Representative, District 27A