Last Tuesday I was sworn-in to my third term as your state representative. It is an immense privilege to serve as our community’s voice at the capitol.
With Democrats having a majority in both houses of the legislature, we are working effectively and efficiently to ensure we meet the urgent needs across the state. Reproductive freedom, affordable child care, improved education, paid family leave and sick time, and infrastructure funding are just a few of our priorities this session. You can watch House and Senate leadership discuss our shared priorities here.
To be clear: this isn’t an exhaustive list of everything we’re looking to accomplish, but these priorities represent our shared values as Minnesotans and ways we can make our state work better for everybody.
First Week
We have hit the ground running in the Minnesota House of Representatives. We’ve already taken action on:
- The Protect Reproductive Options Act (PRO Act) which will ensure every Minnesotan is free to make their own reproductive health care decisions and has already passed the Health Committee.
- Federal tax conformity which will reduce taxes on Minnesotans across the state while simplifying the filing process.
- Our joint House and Senate plan for full legalization of adult-use cannabis.
This session should be eventful. I’ll be sure to keep you up to date as our priorities pass through the Legislature.
Gender Equity
This last election showed us that gender equity is a top issue for Minnesotans. I am proud to chair the Reproductive Freedom Caucus alongside Sen. Lindsey Port. As I said earlier, we are taking swift action to ensure Minneostans’ reproductive freedom is upheld in legislation by moving the PRO Act (HF1) through the Legislature as quickly as possible. This bill protects Minnesotans’ right to contraception, the right to carry a pregnancy to term, and the right to abortion, and ensures the right to privacy for personal reproductive health decisions. It also prevents interference by anti-choice politicians who seek to enact or defend medically unnecessary barriers to comprehensive reproductive health care.
Further, I will be carrying more gender equity initiatives such as the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), eliminating the pay history question from job applications, and raising the minimum wage. Stay tuned for more updates on these bills!
If you have any questions or feedback you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can contact me by email at rep.kaohly.her@house.com or call (651) 296-8799.
Sincerely,
Kaohly Vang Her
State Representative