Dear Neighbors, I hope you and your families are enjoying a healthy and fulfilling start to 2024. Last session, we worked together for the most productive legislative session in a generation. We passed critical local infrastructure projects and passed a historic budget investing in the people of our district and state. Several laws passed during the last session became effective on January 1. Below you’ll find some highlights of the bills taking effect this year. On January 1st, Minnesota’s Earned Sick and Safe Time law took effect, requiring employers to provide one hour of sick and safe time for every 30 hours worked, and can earn a maximum of 48 hours each year unless the employer agrees to a higher amount. An employee is eligible for sick and safe time if they work at least 80 hours in a year for an employer in Minnesota, and are not an independent contractor. You can find more information on the Department of Labor and Industry’s page here. Our Red Flag Law to keep guns out of the hands of people who pose a known, serious risk to themselves or others also takes effect this month. All Minnesotans deserve to be safe in their communities, and I am dedicated to ensuring public safety through these common-sense measures. In Minnesota, we're putting people first, and taking action to keep our loved ones safe. We’re also seeing our tenant protections, pay history, worker safety, and community safety bills take effect. Among other things, these laws require landlords to give tenants 24-hour notice before entering an apartment, ensure that apartments have heat through winter, prohibit employers from requiring job applicants to disclose their pay history, and protect workers at meatpacking plants from safety violations. I encourage you to look at the summaries of all the bills passed by the 2023 Legislature online from nonpartisan House Public Information Services here. As we reflect on our accomplishments, it's crucial to acknowledge that there is much more work ahead of us. Your input remains instrumental in shaping the legislative agenda for 2024. I am already hard at work on plans to build upon our successes and address the challenges that lie ahead. Your partnership, whether through emails, calls, or visits, has driven our work. I am immensely grateful for your dedication to our shared vision, and I can't wait to continue our work for the state we all love. Thank you for the honor of serving our community, and I look forward to another year of collaboration, progress, and positive change for the great state of Minnesota. |