 Neighbors, We are still hearing many bills in committee, as our House DFL Economic Security Plan takes shape. There are still several weeks remaining in the session, and your opinion matters. Please take a few minutes to complete my legislative survey. Thank you. Committees This week, I presented legislation in the Capital Investment committee advocating for investments in Mankato’s wastewater treatment facility. The facility benefits Mankato, the entire region and everyone downstream. I also presented legislation in the Judiciary Finance & Policy committee which updates the Vulnerable Adult Act. This measure was approved with unanimous, bipartisan support. It is very important to protect the most vulnerable among us. My bill to make members of the Minnesota National Guard who have more than 12 years of service eligible for reenlistment and commissioning bonuses passed the Veterans and Military Affairs committee this week with unanimous, bipartisan support. Under current law, only service members with less than 12 years of service are eligible for these bonuses. The measure has already passed the Senate. After passage by the House, it will head to the Governor’s desk for his signature. In Behavioral Health division, we heard portions of my substance use disorder (SUD) treatment bill. This bill contains provisions related to client support for persons receiving SUD services, and other issues related to SUD services. The work continues but I’m greatly appreciative of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support. You can watch committee action on the House of Representatives’ YouTube page. Unemployment Insurance A pressing issue before the legislature is the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund (UITF) and the need to repay the federal government for covering state unemployment payments during the pandemic. It’s important to note last year, corporations made record profits. For example, Target Corporation, which made record breaking profits last year stands to benefit by over $11 million if we adopt the Republican plan to put state taxpayer dollars into this fund. Amazon enjoyed record breaking profits and will benefit by $2.5 million. Walmart benefits by close to $8 million. The list goes on. The Republican UITF proposal would disproportionally benefit the largest corporations which were not only fully operational during – but profited off – the pandemic. Wealthy and profitable corporations don’t need state tax payer dollars given to them. Doing so would leave Minnesota with less for better child care, housing, health care, and public schools, which workers and families deserve. I support helping small hometown businesses across the state who didn’t have record breaking profits and have struggled during the pandemic. And I support our frontline workers who did so much for everyone during the pandemic. With a historic budget surplus, Minnesota has the resources to deliver bigger bonus checks to frontline workers and implement the House DFL UITF proposal to prevent a 16% tax increase on employers. With a $9.25 billion budget surplus, the Legislature can strengthen the UITF program for everyone and expand eligibility for unemployment insurance to hourly school workers like bus drivers and cafeteria staff. We still have so much more work to do. From funding investment in clean water, mental health, and education we cannot stop at the UITF fund. Committee Deadlines Each year the Legislature establishes deadlines for committee action on bills. Committee deadlines are announced during the first half of a session to narrow the list of topics to be considered in the session. This year the following dates have been set: Friday, March 25 is the first deadline for committees to act favorably on bills in the house of origin; either the House or Senate. Friday, April 1 is the second deadline for committees to act favorably on bills, or companions of bills, meeting the first deadline in the other house. Friday, April 8 is the third deadline for committees to act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills. The deadlines do not apply to the House Capital Investment, Ways and Means, Taxes, or Rules and Legislative Administration committees, or to the Senate committees on Capital Investment, Finance, Taxes, or Rules and Administration. HWY 14 Expansion Open House You’re invited to attend an open house on Tuesday, March 22nd from 6-8 p.m. at the Courtland Community Center (300 Railroad Street) to learn more about the 2022-2023 Hwy 14 New Ulm to Nicollet four-lane expansion project. Your input is important! You can learn more about the project here.  Supporting Ukraine This week a bipartisan coalition of legislators announced legislation to sanction Russia for their aggression against Ukraine. I support this action to divest Minnesota’s pension fund from Russia. International Women’s Day This week we celebrated International Women’s Day to recognize all the amazing women who have impacted our communities, state, and world!  COVID-19 Update Getting the COVID-19 vaccination and booster can keep you and your family safe. If you’re not feeling well, get tested. You can still order up to 4 free COVID tests for your household. Go to https://www.covidtests.gov/ to get your test kits and for many more resources. _________ Stay connected with the Legislature The Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services offers nonpartisan recaps of high-profile bills, committee hearings, and floor sessions with their Session Daily publication. Subscribe to receive these here. To track bills of interest through the legislative process, I encourage you to utilize the MyBills feature on the Minnesota House of Representatives’ website here. I welcome your questions and comments anytime. You can send an email to rep.luke.frederick@house.mn or can call my legislative assistant, Blake Wilcox, at 651-296-8803. Also, please visit and “like” my Facebook page for more Capitol and community updates. Thank you for the privilege of representing you in the legislature. Sincerely, Luke Frederick State Representative District 19B – rep.luke.frederick@house.mn
487 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
St. Paul, MN 55155
(651) 296-3248 Committee assignments:
Vice Chair: Behavioral Health Policy Division
Human Services Finance and Policy
Labor, Industry, Veterans and Military Affairs Finance and Policy
Transportation Finance and Policy Legislative assistant:
Blake Wilcox 651-296-8803 blake.wilcox@house.mn |