Dear Neighbors,
It’s been a successful few weeks at the Minnesota House of Representatives. I want to thank our community for allowing me to be your voice at the Capitol. Here is an update on our work at the legislature.
Our Progress!
The House recently passed HF 29, a bipartisan bill that will boost funding to address violent crime and provide counties with the tools they need to prosecute heinous crimes statewide.
With additional public safety investments, and in partnership with the Minnesota Attorney General’s office, this bill, which has already passed in the Senate, would allow us to hire more prosecutors so they can expand their scope to charge violent crimes. These offenses, including crimes like assault, kidnapping, sexual assault, robbery, burglary, human trafficking, sex trafficking, homicide, and more, are an assault on our communities and our society.
Further, we passed HF 90, a bill funding our public defenders. Under both the US and Minnesota Constitutions, we provide the right to due process. Criminal defendants are entitled to a state-appointed lawyer if they cannot afford one. There have been longstanding budget shortfalls in The Office of Public Defense which have meant overworked public defenders who cannot adequately defend the number of defendants that they are assigned.
Last night, the Minnesota House voted to pass two important bills aimed at addressing food insecurity in our schools and community. HF 5 would create a state program for schools to provide up to two free meals per day to all students, and HF 213 would provide an investment of $5 million for food shelf programs in light of record numbers of visits to food shelves last year.
It's simple: hungry kids can’t learn at their full capacity. We have a real opportunity to make a large quality of life improvement for many struggling Minnesota families. As a child, I was food insecure. I was proud to vote for these bills to ensure we feed every Minnesotan in need.
New Bills
I have introduced HF 600, the Ramsey County Juvenile Justice Bill, to fund juvenile delinquency treatment homes, violence prevention, and wellness programs. I presented the bill with Rep. Marion O’Neill (R - Maple Lake) to the House Judiciary Committee. This bill has a $5,000.000 investment for grants to Ramsey county between five to seven culturally specific, community-based intensive therapeutic treatment homes with space for up to 25 out-of-home community-based placements. These are small sites with four to five kids per home. Secondly, the measure has a $10,000,000 investment for grants to develop new and existing community-based organizational support through violence prevention and community wellness program.
There is a lack of culturally appropriate, community-based, out-of-home placement options, and other interventions for youth who engage in serious delinquent behavior. This problem has been broadly recognized for years. This bill will create new solutions to meet this need.
Updates
February is Black History Month! Every day is a great day to celebrate the legacy and talents of our Black and African American communities in Minnesota. It’s a time to reflect on the history of our neighbors' ancestors and uplift their stories. I’m thankful for their contributions to our culture, economy, and society here in Minnesota, and look forward to working to make a more equitable Minnesota.
I’m so thankful for our school counselors here in Minnesota. School counselors help students with barriers we can’t always see, and the best learning happens when our kids feel supported in school. House DFLers have great bills this year to improve our school counselor funding and ensure every kid gets the best start possible.
This week we had the Center for Economic Inclusion at the Capitol. It was great to speak with so many businesses working on everything from mental health care to the arts. Diverse voices mean diverse solutions. Thank you for being in this work with me.
Lastly, I met with advocates and constituents who support the initiative to rethink I-94. We have the opportunity to address the past harm caused by the construction of highway 94 and to reimagine what this space can be. I support a feasibility study of a boulevard conversion and the work from Our Streets Minneapolis.
Stay in Touch
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 or like my Official State Representative Facebook Page.
Sincerely,
Kaohly Vang Her
State Representative