Greetings Eastsiders, With just one week left in this year’s legislative session, we are busy both on the Floor and behind the scenes to wrap up and finish delivering on our promises to Minnesotans. As we near the end, I want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who called, emailed, or visited over the course of this session. Please continue to reach out in the interim if I can be a helpful hand. Here is the latest for the week. Conference Committee ReportsWe’ve passed several conference committee reports off the House Floor this week after meeting with members of the Senate to fine-tune language in budget bills. This week, we passed the Agriculture Conference Committee Report, the Higher Education Report, the Legacy Report, the Veterans Report, and the Housing Report. There are still a few coming up next week, including the Jobs and Labor Conference Committee report. Once everything has passed, we will have a complete state budget that makes historic investments in Minnesota. As Governor Walz said, we’re going to make Minnesota the best place to raise a family. The House is scheduled to adjourn for the year on Thursday, and we will return in February. Capital InvestmentBack in March, the House voted on a proposal to invest in community projects and non-profits across the state of Minnesota, commonly known as the “bonding bill.” Bonding bills require a two-thirds majority to pass, but unfortunately, Senate Republicans refused to pass the bill and invest in communities across the state, including their own. Today, the Capital Investment Committee revealed unveiled a $1.298 billion all-cash capital investment bill to make the investments we need. There are several East Side projects and organizations that will receive funding in this bill, including the Conway Community Rec Center, 30,000 Feet’s Black Arts and Tech Center, the Latino Economic Development Center, PROCEED, and the Hmong MN Community Center. East Side ExcellenceThis weekend, Harding High School math teacher Michael Houston was named the 59th recipient of the prestigious Teacher of the Year award. A first-generation college student, Mr. Houston has been teaching at Harding High School for 19 years. The school district and our community have experienced a lot of trauma this year, and we’ve asked a lot of our teachers. I want to both congratulate Mr. Houston for this incredible accomplishment and thank every East Side teacher for their resilience and commitment to molding the next generation into successful, compassionate, and brilliant Minnesotans. |