Dear Neighbors,
On Monday evening, the House passed a bill that provides badly needed technical fixes to state statute that allows funding to proceed for the Highway 14 project that was approved during the 2018 session. You may have heard, but construction on Highway 14 has been delayed as a result of bill language issues that could only be fixed with legislation.
I am grateful that we were able to get this language signed into law so that we can finally get to work on construction for this important project. Folks in Southern Minnesota have waited long enough to see this completed and I am glad to see we are on our way to getting this done
Last session, Republicans in the House and Senate approved $160 million to complete a stretch of Highway 14 from Owatonna to Dodge Center.
The governor signed the bill into law on Tuesday morning.
I was pleased to have two bills that I am authoring heard in committee this week. Both bills deal with dyslexia education in our schools.
House File 1412 requires school districts to screen all students in grades kindergarten, first and second grade for dyslexia. It would also require all students in grade 3 or higher that are demonstrating a reading difficulty to be screened for dyslexia.
House File 329 requires the state’s dyslexia specialist to provide guidance to schools on accessing tools and screening to identify students with dyslexia. The specialist would also provide guidance to the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board on the issue.
The Dyslexia Specialist at the Minnesota Department of Education provides technical assistance for dyslexia and related disorders and serves as a source of information to schools. The specialist also works to increase professional awareness of dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a serious, but treatable learning disorder. Properly identifying and intervening with students with dyslexia should help remediate other costs, including costs for special education, and set students on a path to educational success.
Finally, last week House Democrats passed legislation that, if it were to become law, could void boat insurance policies.
HF 476, as written, would render any policies that include family exclusions "void” the day following enactment of the bill. This means that your policy could be void before your insurer has an opportunity to notify you and rewrite a new policy. Most insurance-related bills have enactment dates in the future to allow changes to be made during the next policy renewal, this one does not.
I appreciate what the bill is trying to address but the way the legislation is written would create chaos for half-a-million folks in Minnesota that have a boat insurance policy. Stay tuned on this and let your senator know to vote no on this bill.
Staying in Touch
That’s all for this week’s update. Please be sure to contact me to share any questions or concerns you may have about anything related to state government. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-8237 or via email at rep.brian.daniels@house.mn. It would be great to speak with you!
Have a great weekend,
Brian