 Dear Neighbors, Following last week’s special election in Roseville, Rep. David Gottfried (DFL-Roseville) has been sworn in and is now a member of the Minnesota House, reverting us back to a 67-67 tie and ending GOP control. Committees now have equal membership of Democrats and Republicans, which will also reinstate co-chairs. For me, this means I’ll serve as a DFL co-chair of the House Education Finance Committee and share the gavel with GOP co-chair Kresha. We’re working together to discuss and vet legislation to craft a budget that serves all of our students in Minnesota. On Monday, we welcomed the 11 Minnesotan Sovereign Tribal Nations to St. Paul to share their time and wisdom with the Minnesota Legislature and Governor Walz.  Trump Executive Order to Dismatle the Department of EducationYesterday, the Trump Administration issued an unconstitutional Executive Order that seeks to erode access to high-quality education for children in Minnesota and across the country by dismantling the U.S. Department of Education (USED). Currently, the USDE uses formulas to distribute money that are based on numbers of students served and/or the needs of a type of student. It is complex math with many variables. Unfortunately, the folks that do the math were all fired last week. States are being told that money will be sent to them in the form of block grants where states will have “better control”. However, block grants come with strings attached requiring states to include or remove certain policies or funding streams, essentially removing local control. Block grants are not a formula and can become political. Our students deserve better than that. There has also been an indication that some of the work that the USED does for our students can just be shifted to other departments; department that do not have expertise in the needs of our students or the distribution models. Trump’s Executive Order puts resources for students with special needs at risk; guts the Department’s Office of Civil Rights, which protects students from discrimination and sexual assault; and hamstrings the processing of financial aid, raising costs for college and university students who will have a harder time accessing loans, Pell Grants, and work study programs. Minnesota stands to lose $2 billion a year for these students. Committee WorkWe continue our work in the Taxes Committee with the power sharing agreement. Rep. Aisha Gomez is now co-chairing the commitee with Rep. Greg Davids. We heard a variety of bills regarding expanding the child tax credit, increasing property tax aids and credits, as well as increasing sales tax and property tax exemption for farmers. We also heard a bill to ensure free tax preparation sites for low income residents continue. In Education Finance Committee, Rep. Ron Kresha chairs the committee on Tuesdays, and I will chair the committee on Thursdays. Tuesday we heard a bills on seat time, innovation zones, and a bill extending the short call substitute pilot project. On Thursday, we heard Rep. Sandra Feist’s bill to update the compensatory revenue formula following the implementation of Universal School Meals. Kare11 did a story and breaks it down here. We also heard Rep. Rehm’s bill to deliver additional investments in Unemployment Insurance for the hourly workers in our schools (our paraprofessionals, nutrition staff, and bus drivers) who have not been able to access unemployment in the summer months when they are unemployed. DWI ReformRepresentative Larry Kraft, Senator Ron Latz, alongside advocates announced a bipartisan bill of which I'm a coauthor. The bill reforms Minnesota’s DWI policies in a press conference recently at the Park Tavern, the site of last year’s deadly crash in St. Louis Park. The driver of last year’s tragedy had received 5 previous DWI convictions and was found to be four times over the legal limit following the crash. Friday’s proposal significantly increases the amount of time people with multiple offenses are required to be on ignition interlock, doubles the lookback period for offenses, and removes obstacles for offenders to get on interlock in an effort to prevent future incidents like this from happening again.  Constituent VisitsThank you to Dr. Julia Dworsky for talking with me about (HF1010/SF832) that creates a certified midwife program. The bill will help grow the maternity care workforce, especially in areas of Minnesota where our hospitals can be one or more hours away.  Tuesday I had two bills up in different committees. In Public Safety, my bill makes clarifying changes to the Hometown Heroes Act. Thank you to the MNFire Initiative for all you do for our firefighters! In Education Policy, my bill would provide school districts flexibility in setting their calendars. Local representation from St. Louis Park Schoolboard Member, Colin Cox, came to testify in favor of the bill.  Thank you to Edina resident, Tyson Helder, who visited during the MN Land Title Association’s Day at the Capitol. We talked about two bills to protect home owners during land transactions.  Constituent Carl Holmquist came up to visit during Leading Age Day. Thank you for filing me in on legislation that will affect the Glenn in Hopkins and other senior living facilities.  I had a blast showing a group of folks from the Hopkins Senior Center around the House floor this week! They had great questions and enjoyed the Minnesota Historical Society tour as well.  Keep in TouchPlease continue to contact me anytime with questions, input, or ideas at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889. I am honored to serve our communities of Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Edina at the State Capitol. Have a great weekend!  Cheryl Youakim
State Representative |