 Dear Neighbors, In light of Tuesday’s special election results, beginning next week, House committees are expected to rotate gavels, with DFL and Republican co-chairs setting their respective agendas and deciding which bills to discuss - though it’ll take bipartisan support for any bill to pass through committees. More information about committee membership and schedules can be found at www.house.mn.gov/committees. I’ve been working well with my Republican co-chair on the House Education Finance committee over these past weeks, but I am excited to be a fully voting member again. Starting next week, we will have three weeks for committees to put together their budget bills with their co-chair. Floor ActionAs I mentioned in my previous update, we continue to see divisive legislation making its way to the House Floor with no chance of passing. On Monday, we were prepared to block a bill to delay the new, popular Paid Family and Medical Leave program that’s been passed into law and set to take effect January 2026. The author tabled the bill, signaling your grassroots community efforts to stop legislation that would delay Paid Family and Medical Leave from taking effect. On Thursday, House Republicans calendared 17 bills before the official tie goes into effect. All but two bills were brought up and tabled by Republican leadership. When a bill is “on the table”, it remains available to be taken up at any time with a basic majority vote. It should make things interesting for the rest of the session and the next. We did hear two bills on the House floor on Thursday evening that would roll back the reproductive health care and access bills we passed last session. Committee WorkOn Monday, in the Ways and Means Committee we heard a bill (HF25) to give taxpayer funds to unregulated crisis pregnancy centers and maternity homes. We also heard a bill to redistribute a budget surplus, bypassing our fiscal responsbility to fund the emergency fund, the state reserve fund, and pay back our schools if we have shifted any of their payments (this was done in 2005, 2010, & 2011 when there were large budget deficits). This would no longer happen if HF4 becomes law. Our current funding structure during the 2023-2024 session made it possible to invest in Universal Meals, index our school formula to inflation, create the Paid Family and Medical Leave bill, and much more. Tax Committee was busy this week. We heard a plethora of bills that provided sales tax exemptions in a variety of areas, excluding different properties from property taxes, and more. Taxes is always an interesting committee. On Wednesday, I presented HF805 to the Tax Committee. Currently, if a non-profit daycare owns their building they get a property tax break, however if those non-profit daycare centers rent, they do not receive the same break. I crafted HF805 as a renter’s credit, similar to those who rent residentially. I would like to thank Kylie Cooper, the Executive Director from Rise Early Learning Center, for testifying on HF805. Your expertise was essential for the Tax Committee to hear about.  Photo credit: House Photography In Education Finance we heard overviews of the education formula, compensatory aid, and about all the different measures we invest in to get more teachers into our classrooms. We also heard a few bills regarding proposals to grow teacher apprenticeship programs across the state. We currently have three successful qualified teacher apprenticeships programs in Minnesota. Constituent Visits A group of folks from our community came up to the Capitol for Health Care Lobby Day. We had a robust discussion around access to affordable health care and prescription drugs, creating a public option, and the barriers folks have to navigate every day.  I visited with student board members from MyHealth Clinic in Hopkins to discuss access to mental health support and reproductive care for all Minnesotans. Visiting with students engaged in public policy always brings me so much hope for Minnesota’s future.  It was Minnesota Private College Day on Tuesday. Thank you to Elsie St. John from Gustavus Adolphus College for sharing your story about how the Minnesota State Grant in Higher Education has done for you. I am so excited that you are going to school to be an elementary teacher, we need more folks like you in the classroom!  Hunger Day on the hill brought constituents representing a large collation of groups that are combating hunger all over the state. It was a great discussion with constituents from The Food Group, Second Harvest and the Hunger Coalition around the increased need to fund our food shelves and to extend Market Bucks to our local grocery stores. They also expressed concern around United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) farm-to-school grants being cut at the federal level.  Thank you Matthew Beach, who was here for Insurance Day on the Hill, for discussing fees on services and the ins and outs of the insurance agency. It is also fun to catch up on Hopkins schools and high school sports.  Tuesday I also had a chance to catch up with our Metropolitan Council Member Anjuli Cameron on a variety of local topics. She was also here for Alzheimer’s Day on the Hill. We discussed the need for education and support for families who have a loved one experiencing Alzheimer’s. This is a personal issue for me and I am so glad that we have such a strong state coalition as a resource.  Hospitality Day on the Hill is an opportunity to hear from our local businesses in the hospitality industry. I had the opportunity to meet Sarah Enrico who owns Food Gallery Catering to talk about the challenges her industry faces and possible solutions.  Wednesday also brough a group of constituents to visit with the Rise and Repair Coalition. They shared with me their focus on the bills moving through the legislature around climate justice and Indigenous rights.  I also had an informative meeting with constituent Larry Hiscock who was at the Capitol advocating for increased funding for wrap-around-services for Minnesotans experiencing homelessness. We talked about his work with Fairview Health Services in their community advancement department. Housing insecurity has a direct impact on health outcomes in so many ways. It was nice to hear about the great work that is being done by so many organizations to try and increase health outcomes in our community.  Thank you to the group from AARP for meeting with me and sharing all the areas in which you are advocating for this year. From creating a fund to provide restitution for those who have experienced financial scams to protecting vulnerable adults from unlawful evictions, AARP’s advocacy work has a large imprint on Minnesotan’s lives.  A big thank you to Rep. Julie Greene for organizing a group of students to come to the Capitol and learn about it’s inner workings. They met with legislators, a lobbyist, our House Chief Clerk Patrick Murphy, took a tour of the Capitol, and sat in on the House Education Finance Committee. They even had a chance to visit with the Co-Chair of the House Education Finance Committee, Rep. Ron Kresha.  Real ID Taking Effect in May Beginning May 7, 2025, Minnesotans 18 years of age or older will not be able to use their standard driver's license or identification card to board domestic flights or enter certain federal facilities. Instead, they will need one of three options: - Minnesota REAL ID driver's license or identification card.
- Minnesota Enhanced driver's license or identification card.
- Other federally-approved forms of identification. They are listed online here, but include:
- U.S. passport or passport card
- Foreign government-issued passport
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
- Permanent resident card
- Border crossing card
- Federally recognized, tribal-issued photo ID
- U.S. Department of defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
If you are not sure which license type is right for you, check out the Driver Vehicle Services’ website here.  Keep in TouchPlease continue to reach out anytime with questions, input, or ideas at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or by phone at 651-296-9889. I appreciate hearing from you! Thank you for the honor of representing our Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Edina neighbors at the Capitol. Have a great weekend,  Cheryl Youakim
State Representative |