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Dear Granite City Neighbors,
It’s been an incredibly busy few weeks at the Minnesota Legislature, with the Minnesota House passing our first few bills of session and my committee work filling up with hearings on legislation I’m carrying. Here’s an update from St. Paul to St. Cloud.
Renewing Our Commitment to Bills that Matter
Minnesota has one of the only state governments in the nation that isn’t controlled by a single political party. Despite this, I believe we’ve set a good example of the work that can be done with compromise, especially with the work Republicans and Democrats did together on crafting our state budget. There are, however, several important areas where the House DFL has delivered on the needs of Minnesotans, and though we passed bills that addressed affordable insulin, gun violence prevention, and paid family leave last year, Republican leadership in the Senate blocked these proposals.
The first bills we passed this year were a renewal of our commitment to Minnesota values, which is why I helped pass the Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act, common-sense gun violence prevention measures, and the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act off the House floor. Since our work on these bills last year, I’ve had countless conversations with constituents, many of them asking why we can’t simply come together and solve these issues. My hope is that in passing these bills again, the Senate can come to the table and help find a solution that benefits Minnesotans, just as we did with the state’s budget last year.
You can watch my comments during the gun violence prevention debate here.
Northstar: The Next Steps
After the immense success of my bill that passed last year, I have been working with stakeholders, the community, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) to help #FinishNorthstar. Currently, MnDOT has been working with BNSF Railway, who owns the track and operates the existing Northstar service, to work out scenarios for this project, and now is the time to prepare for our next steps.
This week, I introduced a bill that continues to put Northstar on the right track by conducting ridership and revenue studies to prepare an economic impact analysis, identify equipment needs, and begin preliminary engineering and environmental review. These would be done alongside negotiations with BNSF Railway and an extensive stakeholder and public involvement process.
The people of Central Minnesota are ready to finally finish Northstar, and this bill funds the next steps to make that dream a reality. I hope you’ll join me in rallying behind this legislation that brings us one step closer to delivering the world-class transportation options our community and region deserve.
Other Bills I’m Working On
Though floor debates have taken up a lot of our time these past few weeks, I’ve also been working on several new pieces of legislation that I’ve been shepherding through the committee process. Here’s a quick overview of three of them, all of which have bipartisan support:
- Increasing the Growler Cap: As the craft beer industry grows in Minnesota, so should the cap that’s placed on growler sales. Our breweries are having this source of revenue taken away from them far too soon, and I’m working to bring balance to that system. You can read more about my bill here.
- Investing in Skate Parks: It’s really important we give kids the opportunity to go outside and recreate, to put the phones down, to put the video games down and go out and spend time outdoors with other people. That’s why I’m carrying a bill to invest in more quality skate parks throughout Minnesota. You can read the Session Daily’s coverage of our recent committee hearing here.
- Keeping Drones Out of Correctional Facilities: Many are harmless, but there’s a real concern that the drones flying over our correctional facilities are bringing in drugs, weapons, or being used for other nefarious purposes. This week, I was joined by St. Cloud Correctional Officers as we presented my bill to ban drones from flying over our correctional facilities.
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