Neighbors, The pace at the Capitol has been steady, and we have completed another productive week. Yesterday, we passed two important pieces of legislation. I voted ‘yes’ with my DFL colleagues on House File 5, which guarantees breakfast and lunch to Minnesota’s students, reducing costs for families. During the pandemic, the USDA provided free meals to all students, regardless of income, through the end of the 2021-2022 school year. Federal support did not continue into the current school year, but several states, including California, Nevada, Vermont, and Massachusetts continued funding free meals for all their students from their state budgets. It is very difficult for anyone to learn if they are hungry, and food insecurity can lead to many adverse outcomes. Increased school absences, lower reading, and math test scores, and increased erratic behavior can all be attributed to a hungry student. HF5 makes sure all our students have the nutrition they need during the day to learn in school.  Funding our Food Shelves Minnesotans made 5.5 million visits to food shelves last year, and yesterday I joined all of my colleagues to unanimously pass HF213, which provides funds to food shelves to purchase, transport, and coordinate the distribution of nutritious food to needy individuals and families. We have learned hunger is a statewide problem and affects Minnesotans of all ages. This unanimous vote shows how important it is to provide one of the basic needs we have – to anyone who needs the help. Justice for All Earlier this week, we passed HF 29, a bipartisan bill to boost funding addressing violent crime and providing counties statewide with the tools they need to prosecute crimes. This bill, which has already passed in the Senate, would allow the attorney general’s office to hire more prosecutors to expand their scope charging violent crimes. These offenses, including crimes like assault, kidnapping, sexual assault, robbery, burglary, human trafficking, sex trafficking, homicide, and more, have a deeply negative impact on our communities and our society. Further, we passed HF 90, a bill funding our public defenders. Under both the US and Minnesota Constitutions, we provide the right to due process. Criminal defendants are entitled to a state-appointed lawyer if they cannot afford one. There have been longstanding budget shortfalls in The Office of Public Defense. As a result, public defenders have been overworked and unable to adequately defend the number of defendants they are assigned. Gun Safety Last Friday, two bills advanced after hearings in the House Public Safety committee. HF14 would require private transfers of pistols and semiautomatic military-style assault weapons to be preceded by a background check of the recipient of the firearm. The second measure, HF15 – the ‘red flag’ bill – seeks to reduce gun violence by allowing family or law enforcement to remove firearms from a person thought to pose a danger to themselves or others. This week, I met with members of the Protect Minnesota gun violence prevention group. Stay Connected with the Legislature The Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services offers nonpartisan recaps of high-profile bills, committee hearings, and floor sessions with their Session Daily publication. Subscribe to receive these here. To track bills of interest through the legislative process, I encourage you to utilize the MyBills feature on the Minnesota House of Representatives’ website. Please continue to reach out with any input, ideas, or feedback about the issues important to you. I value hearing from you, so please don’t hesitate to call or email me any time. You can also connect with me on Facebook here. It’s an honor to represent you at the State Capitol. Sincerely, Laurie Pryor State Representative |