Dear Neighbors,
I’m excited to be back at the State Capitol working to deliver for our Duluth community and to build a state that works better for everyone. My House DFL colleagues and I are already hitting the ground running, making progress on our key priorities.
This list doesn’t comprise everything we plan to do this session, but broadly represents the work Minnesotans expect us to do.
To stay up to date with our work, please “like” my new State Representative Liz Olson Facebook page where I’ll frequently post updates from Saint Paul.
Protecting Reproductive Freedom
One of the first bills advancing this session is the Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act, which has already received approval from three committees. Politics have no place in a doctor’s office, but in overturning Roe v. Wade last year, the U.S. Supreme Court unraveled a half-century of legal protections guaranteeing the right to an abortion. The PRO Act protects Minnesotans’ right to contraception, the right to carry a pregnancy to term, the right to abortion, and ensures the right to privacy for personal reproductive health decisions. It also prevents interference by anti-choice politicians who seek to enact or defend medically unnecessary barriers to comprehensive reproductive health care.
I look forward to supporting this important legislation on the House Floor soon, along with other solutions to protect and enhance Minnesotans’ reproductive freedom, including the right to an abortion.
Ensuring Time to Care
In Minnesota, we care about each other and the well-being of our families. Everyone deserves the opportunity to take time caring for themselves or their loved ones. Unfortunately, there are over 900,000 workers who don’t have the opportunity to take a single paid day off work, many of whom are in low-wage positions and come from our BIPOC communities. New mothers are often left with no alternative but to return to work just days after giving birth.
To address this inequity, I’m a proud co-author of legislation to offer Paid Family and Medical Leave to all Minnesota workers. The program would enable workers to take time to be with their newborn child, keep themselves healthy if they get sick, or be with a loved one in the final weeks of their life. Paid Family Leave would also benefit small businesses that would like to offer this benefit to better recruit and retain employees.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with WDIO about this bill to support the health, wellbeing, and economic security of working people. By advancing Paid Family and Medical Leave, along with my bill to offer Earned Sick and Safe Time (which will receive its first committee hearing next week), House DFLers are committed to ensuring Minnesota workers can care for themselves and their loved ones.
Access to School Meals
One of the best ways to ensure students succeed is to ensure they aren’t hungry in the classroom. Currently though, one in six children experience food insecurity. When kids are focused on when they might get their next meal, they aren’t focused on their schoolwork. While free and reduced-price lunches are available, there are often hoops to jump through and not all families qualify, not to mention creating a great deal of paperwork for schools.
The simplest way to fix this is to offer school meals for free across our state. I’m proud to co-author legislation to do just that, which received its first committee hearing this week. Student nutrition goes hand in hand with student achievement as attendance, grades, and test scores all go up when students have the nourishment they need.
Please be in touch with me throughout the session by emailing me at rep.liz.olson@house.mn.gov (please note the updated address) or calling me at the Capitol at 651-296-4246. Working together – with everyone’s voice at the table – we can create the bright future all Minnesotans deserve.
Sincerely,
Liz Olson
State Representative