Hello Friends, The legislative session has adjourned, Shakopee schools wrap up this week, and summer is within reach! I want to thank you again for the incredible honor of being Shakopee’s representative in the Minnesota House. The past few years have been some of the most productive in state history, and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together. Last year, the Legislature passed our major two-year budget bills, and this year we built on that progress by passing small supplemental budgets alongside more substantial policy changes in major committee areas. Working alongside the Governor and our Senate counterparts, we reached final agreements on all major budget bills - which have now been signed into law. You can find nonpartisan summaries about the final agreements here: Transportation, Labor and Housing, Energy and Agriculture, Public Safety and Judiciary, Commerce and Cannabis, Jobs and Economic Development, Environment and Natural Resources, K-12 Education, Higher Education, Human Services, Health, and Elections. These are all great bills, but as Vice Chair of the Transportation Committee, and a member of the Agriculture, Commerce, and Public Safety committees, I’m especially proud of our efforts there. A sampling of some of the new laws I authored include the Education Support Professional Bill of Rights and funding for rumble strips (an issue championed by Shakopee resident Todd Croy). We also passed a gun violence prevention bill that includes tougher penalties for straw purchasers and a ban on binary triggers, a bill that will increase wages for rideshare drivers while keeping companies operating in Minnesota, a health occupational licensure and scoping bill, legislation improving our child welfare services and addressing racial disparities, and a tenants’ rights package. Shakopee Social DistrictAnother bill that passed this year would expand the eligible communities that can adopt “social districts,” following the success of the state’s first one in Anoka, and I’m excited to say that Shakopee is one of them! It’s another stellar example of Shakopee stepping up to be part of this pilot program, and it was an honor working across the aisle to make this a possibility. I’m so excited to see what the community does with this next year! You can check out Kare 11’s coverage on Shakopee’s upcoming social district here. |