SAINT PAUL - Yesterday, the Minnesota House DFL announced the committee structure and chair assignments for the 2021-2022 biennium. With 7 of the 30 committee chairs being members of the Minnesota Legislature’s People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus, this will be the most diverse set of committee chairs in the history of the Minnesota House of Representatives. To mark this historic committee structure, the POCI Caucus released the following statement:
“We are extremely happy that the House DFL is continuing to move in the direction of progress with these historic appointments. This is an incredibly important step in acknowledging that representation matters and supports our ongoing efforts to address systemic racism and the disenfranchisement of People of Color at the Capitol.
“The events over the last year have proven that the status quo is no longer tenable, and our systems must be redesigned to address persistent and unacceptable racial disparities. By empowering voices of Color throughout the committee structure we can draw on our extensive expertise and diverse lived experiences to inform policy that works for all Minnesotans. We are now better equipped than ever to center and amplify historically silenced and marginalized people.
”While the Minnesota House of Representatives still has a way to go to truly embrace and empower voices of Color, we are clearly headed in the right direction and the POCI Caucus is pleased to celebrate this historic victory.”
POCI Caucus chairs and their respective committees:
- Fue Lee (59A) - Capital Investment
- Ruth Richardson (52B) - Education Policy
- Aisha Gomez (62B) - Preventing Homelessness Division
- Mohamud Noor (60B) - Workforce and Business Development Finance & Policy
- Jamie Becker-Finn (42B) - Judiciary Finance & Civil Law
- Carlos Marianni (65B) - Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance & Policy
- Rena Moran (65A) - Ways and Means
The People of Color & Indigenous (POCI) Caucus includes Reps. Jamie Becker-Finn (42B), Aisha Gomez (62B), Hodan Hassan (62A), Kaohly Her (64A), Mary Kunesh-Podein (41B), Fue Lee (59A), Alice Mann (56B), Carlos Mariani (65B), Rena Moran (65A), Mohamud Noor (60B), Ruth Richardson (52B), Samantha Vang (40B), Jay Xiong (67B), Tou Xiong (53B)
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