Dear Neighbors,
I hope folks have been able to enjoy our Spring weather! While it has been a busy week at the Capitol, it did not escape my notice that it was National Teachers Appreciation Week. Thank you to all of our teachers out there who do so very much for our students each and every day! A special shoutout to the teachers in my family: Jacques, Gannon, Danielle, Theresa, Leila, Shannon, and Kayli.
We’re in the final days of the legislative session, with our work required to be done by midnight on May 19.
The bulk of our time this week was spent on the House Floor, debating and passing our proposals for new policies and supplemental budgets. Much of this work is building off our efforts from last year, ensuring our investments have the greatest impact possible for Minnesotans.
We’ve now passed all our major supplemental budgets bills off of the House floor. You can read these nonpartisan summaries of our work on K-12 Education, Children & Families, Transportation, Labor, and Housing, Higher Education, Judiciary and Public Safety, State and Local Government and Veterans, Elections, Human Services, Workforce and Economic Development, Agriculture, Commerce, and Energy, Health, and Taxes. The next step for these bills is conference committees. This is where the House and the Senate iron out their differences and send a final bill, in the form of a conference committee report, back to the House and Senate floors for final approval.
With May underway, I’d like to wish everyone a Happy Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! We’re proud of the contributions Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders have made to our state, and this month, we celebrate their cultural heritage and history.
Education Finance Conference Committee
It is an honor to Co-Chair the Education Finance Conference Committee again this session. While this is a supplemental bill, and not as large as last year’s investments, there is still a lot of work for Senator Kunesh and I to do with our fellow conferees. We had our first meeting this morning and will be working through the weekend and into early next week to complete our conference committee report.
You can find information on all of the appointed conference committees here. When you click on the HF/SF link, you can see the conferees, the materials for the conference committee, spreadsheets, the schedule for future meetings, and the video of previous meetings. The materials have a summary of the provisions in the House and Senate bills as well as the complete language lined up side-by-side so that you can see the similarities and differences between the bills. These are the documents that committees use to walk through the bills and come to a consensus on spending and language.
Keep in Touch
Please continue to keep in touch and contact me anytime at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889. Email is the quickest way to get in touch.
Thank you for the honor of representing our Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Edina neighbors at the State Capitol.
Happy Mother’s Day and enjoy the weekend!
Cheryl Youakim
State Representative