Dear Neighbors,
It’s been another busy week in St. Paul, advocating on behalf of our communities, region, and shared values. Thank you for your continued support and for placing your trust in me to represent you. It is a responsibility that I do not take for granted.
School Resource Officer Update
The School Resource Officer (SRO) bill has been signed into law by Governor Walz—returning SROs to the dozens of schools across Minnesota that had removed them following a change in law last year.
While this fix ultimately took longer than it needed to, I am nevertheless happy that we were able to come to a bipartisan solution. The safety and security of schools is of the highest priority for us all and a safe learning environment plays such a huge role in a positive educational experience for students.
This was the right thing to do for our schools and I was proud to support this bill.
Permitting Reform
I have often discussed the need for permitting reform in Minnesota. Time and again, we’ve seen industries and businesses look to expand operations in our region that would provide high-wage, union jobs. Unfortunately, Minnesota’s burdensome and drawn-out permitting process has resulted in many of these projects not moving forward—with hundreds of jobs and billions in tax revenue moving to other states.
That’s why I have signed on as a co-author to an important permitting reform bill that would bring additional transparency and streamline this process.
For example, on average, it takes 673 days to issue an air permit in Minnesota. The same permit takes only 77 days in Illinois or 119 in Wisconsin.
This is unacceptable.
Fortunately, there seems to be some growing consensus around the need for reform and I am ready to roll up my sleeves and do the hard work on this.
Thanks for Visiting!
Many local groups visited St. Paul this week to discuss the issues that are most important to them. If you plan on being at the legislature anytime during the next few months, please be sure to reach out to my office to set up a time to meet.
I enjoyed meeting with local members of the United Steelworkers! Looking forward to continuing our work together to build a strong and prosperous Iron Range for generations to come.
It was great to meet with the RAMS board this week to discuss ways to strengthen our region.
Staying in Touch
Stay tuned for more updates from St. Paul as the legislative session unfolds. In the meantime, please continue to reach out to my office for any questions, comments, or concerns about the bills, ideas, and issues that matter to all of us at the Capitol! Also, please make sure to share this link with anyone who may be interested in signing up for my newsletter: https://rb.gy/5slax9.
Contact me by phone at 651-296-4936 or via email at rep.spencer.igo@house.mn.gov.
Have a great St. Patrick's Day Weekend!
Spencer