Legislative Update- February 21, 2020

Dear Neighbors,

A big thank you to everyone who showed up to our weekend town hall meetings last week. Over 125 people showed up! In fact, it was standing room only at both locations and we had to move into a bigger room in Coon Rapids to accommodate the crowd. I enjoyed the conversation and learned a lot! If you missed out, don’t worry, we’ll have another soon.

The Minnesota House is still moving full speed ahead as bills move through committees, and various proposals continue to be introduced. Read more about what I’ve been working on below:

“Coal Holiday” Legislation

My "Coal Holiday" bill had a public hearing in the House Energy and Climate Committee this week. The legislation would allow utilities to shut down coal plants when electrical demand is low-- saving money and reducing carbon emissions. Xcel recently concluded that shutting down their coal plants in the spring and fall would save ratepayers $55 million over the next three years and would reduce carbon emissions by 40%! Talk about win-win! MinnPost wrote an article about the proposal and you can check it out here.

Robocall Update

I spoke with Minnesota Public Radio early this week to talk more about my robocall legislation and how it would put an end to predatory practices and crack down on fraudulent scammers. There are a few different bill versions in the Republican-led Senate, and I’m encouraged that bipartisan momentum is building to get this done for Minnesotans. You can read the story here.

Hometown Heroes

I had a great time yesterday meeting with Coon Rapids firefighters. We need to be doing a lot more to support our first responders!

I am proud to co-author the Hometown Heroes Assistance Program, which would provide every firefighter in Minnesota with a critical care insurance policy to provide care if the firefighter is diagnosed with cancer or a cardiac condition. It’s important to understand that firefighters experience cancer at a much higher rate than the general population due to the smoke they inhale. The bill would also develop a regional network of medical providers educated in the areas of cancer, cardiac, and emotional trauma as they pertain to firefighters.

Keep in Touch

Please contact me anytime with questions or input at 651-296-5513 or by email at rep.zack.stephenson@house.mn. For additional updates, follow me on my official Facebook page.

I appreciate hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Zack Stephenson

State Representative