Good Afternoon, Lakeville Neighbors!
It was wonderful being back in Lakeville this weekend seeing many of you around town. Now that we’re done completing the state budget, I’m looking forward to spending more time at home with my family, but also in the district listening to your ideas. If you’d like to meet, please call or email my office.
Last week, the House and Senate finished passing the second round of budget bills to fund the state for the next two years. Just yesterday, the governor signed each and every one of these bills into law! It truly represents months, even years, of work to introduce bills, hold hearings, assemble the legislation, and pass it to the governor’s desk. In the end, the long hours were worth it when we saw the final product.
It was a historically productive session, advancing your top priorities.
Tax relief totaling $650 million, billions of dollars in road and bridge funding, and over a billion more dollars for schools in our area and around the state highlight our budget. Personally, I was proud to see many provisions I worked on in the transportation plan, including funding for the Orange Line bus rapid transit included in our final bonding bill. This will become an important way for Lakeville residents to commute to downtown Minneapolis and help fulfill positions our employers are having a hard time filling.
I’m extremely proud of our session as we worked across political lines to deliver bills that will truly help Minnesotans for years to come. With 201 competing ideas in the legislature, compromise can take some work, but, in the end, we ended up with a budget framework that moves our state forward. There is still work to be done and areas to improve on, but in the meantime, thank you for the great honor to represent Lakeville.
Enjoy the weekend, and stay in touch this summer!
Looking for a fun community activity this Saturday?
Join the Downtown Lakeville Business Association, this Saturday, June 3rd from 4pm to 11pm, at BLOCK BASH! Proceeds benefit Lakeville Schools Ready, Set, Learn. Music, food, and friends! Pre-order tickets at www.DowntownLakeville.com. It would be great to see you there.
Jon Koznick
State Representative, Lakeville