Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I hope you are all enjoying the longer, warmer days as much as I am!! It is also March Madness! I'm so excited to keep cheering on the MN Gophers and hope they make it to the Final Four here at home. If you are interested in trying to go to a game or being part of the festivities here in the Twin Cities, you can find out more here.
This has been another busy week at the Capitol, as we have started debating bills on the floor and committees are working toward the second deadline. Here are a few of the big issues we tacked this week:
Hwy 610/Country Road 30
I attended a hearing at the Capital Investment Committee as a coauthor of Rep. Kristin Bahner's bill to finish 610/County Road 30 in Maple Grove. We are in the home stretch completing 610, which has been under construction for more than 20 years. The city, the county and federal dollars for this project are all in place and we just need to get the state portion of the funding to finally finish this critical regional artery.
It is also much more efficient to do it now, while this section of the I-94 Corridor is undergoing a 3-year payment overlay upgrade. I was delighted to join Mayor Steffenson, City Administrator Heidi Nelson and Rep. Bahner in support of this important project.
Hands-Free Bill
With a strong bipartisan vote of 106-21, the Minnesota House approved legislation that would improve safety on our roads by reducing distracted driving. The bill, which I supported, would only allow drivers to use cell phones using voice-activation, one-touch or headsets. Other states which have enacted similar laws have seen a significant reduction in accidents caused by distracted driving and I am hopeful this bill will soon be considered in the Senate.
Sexual Harassment
The House also passed a bill which would make it more possible for a victim of sexual harassment for a victim to have their case heard in court. The current standard the courts rely on has caused egregious cases to be dismissed and the court has asked the legislature to re-examine the statute. I sit on the Judiciary and Civil law committee and had serious concerns about the impact of changing this standard when the original bill came before the Committee. My colleagues and I worked with the author to add language to the bill to clarify that the court must also consider the "totality of the circumstances" and employ a "reasonable person" standard to ensure that employers can't be sued for conduct that, while maybe not appropriate, is not affecting the conditions of employment. The author accepted some of our suggestions so I felt I could support the bill.
I still have concerns, but I believe those concerns can be worked out with the Senate in Conference Committee and I am hopeful we will eventually get a bill that ensures victims can have their day in court while protecting employers from civil action if they take steps to address the harassing conduct.
Opioid Bill
We have an opioid crisis in Minnesota and I fully support the goals of the bill to provide help to those dealing with opioid addiction. There were 422 deaths from opioid overdoses in Minnesota in 2018 and half were from prescription opioids.
I care deeply about this issue, which has personally touched our lives and even helped improve the bill by offering an amendment in the Health & Human Services Committee. My amendment, which was accepted by the author, will ensure that families would have access to home disposal kits for opioid prescriptions they do not use after a surgery or illness.
My concern about the House version of the bill we voted on this week is that, while it is well-intended, it will not actually get help to families struggling with addiction right now. In fact, based on the effective date and other provisions, it will be at least a year and a half before any of the people struggling today will receive help. If the law ends up in court, as is widely expected and has happened in other states, there could be years of delay in getting people struggling with addiction the resources they need.
I proposed a solution to change the funding mechanism in the bill to access money from the state's tobacco settlement and provide an immediate, reliable source of funding to help people in crisis now. I hope that change will be adopted by the conference committee and that the final version of the bill will contain a funding source that gets help to those needing it immediately.
Rep. Robbins attended the Breakfast on Opioid Crisis in the Workplace in Maple Grove
Things to Know
This week I attended a workshop held by the I-94 Chamber of Commerce on Opioids in the Workplace. Two officers from the Hennepin County Sheriff's office gave an excellent presentation and passed along some great information on how we can all help address the opioid crisis - don't keep unused medications in your home.
If you have unused opioids at home, you can safely dispose of them in two ways:
- Home drug deactivation disposal bags are available at some of those same locations. Here's some basic info on the Deterra home disposal bags, which is a company based in Minnesota. I believe there are other competitors in the market, as well.
Photos from the Week
A few photos from some of the constituent meetings I had this week! Meeting with people from our district is always the highlight of my week!
A packed Rotunda for Veterans Day at the Capitol
Please Contact Me
Many of you have already been in touch to discuss your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you. Thank you for sharing your ideas! Please continue to contact me to discuss any legislation put before the House or any other matters to which I can be of assistance. You can set up a time to visit me at the Capitol by calling me at 651-296-7806 or by email at rep.kristin.robbins@house.mn. My office is located on the second floor of the State Office Building in room 225.
I hope you all have a fun weekend!
Kristin