Dear Neighbors,
Happy New Year! I hope this message finds you and your family doing well as we get to work at the Minnesota House. Here’s an update from the Capitol.
Last Tuesday I was sworn in as State Representative for Savage and northwest Burnsville. I am honored to serve again as our community’s voice at the Capitol. This session, we have a great opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of all Minnesotans. I look forward to working in collaboration with my colleagues in the House, Senate, and the executive branch to pass meaningful and effective legislation.
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.
Cannabis Legalization
Last session, the House passed adult-use cannabis legalization and we plan on doing it again. My colleagues and I have introduced HF 100, which will create a legal framework for cannabis in Minnesota. It is a big bill and has many facets. The main takeaways are that we will legalize, expunge, and regulate. A legal market is a safe market. What we know now, is that consumers want a legal market that ensures safe products. Our bill expunges previous low-level cannabis-related sentences. We know that prohibitionist laws disproportionately impacted people of color. This was wrong. Our bill seeks to address these wrongs and we are looking carefully at any equity measures within the bill with an eye toward justice.
Further, we are creating a regulated market. Adult use will start at age 21, and cannabis products would be regulated in much the same way as alcohol. We have looked at other states who have passed legalization and discussed what would and would not work for Minnesota. We are committed to making this a bill focused on our state. You listen to our press conference on the bill here.
More Legislation
The Federal Tax Conformity bill has passed the House and Senate and was signed by Governor Walz yesterday. This bipartisan legislation provides $100 million in tax cuts for Minnesotan families and businesses and simplifies future tax filings. A great start to this session!
I had my first bill hearing on Thursday in the Judiciary and Civil Law Committee. HF 179 creates a more straightforward process for people to change their names after divorce. I love this bill because the idea came from our community, it's uncontroversial, and it helps people move on with their lives. The bill received a unanimous vote and will be next heard on the House floor. You can hear my testimony here.
My Beyond Bullying Bill is back. After an unfortunate ending to last year’s session, I am bringing back this important bill to curb instances of racism, homophobia, sexual exploitation, and more in our schools. You may remember last year’s community forum on racism, bullying, and sexual assault in our schools. We heard from so many students across the state who had been targeted for their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, and other protected classes. We know our students do their best when they feel safe and seen in our schools. My bill updates our anti-bullying statutes and I hope we can get this bill across the finish line this session.
The Protecting Reproductive Options Act (PRO Act) has made its way through all of the committees. This bill establishes a fundamental right to reproductive health care in Minnesota law. We heard from so many of our neighbors that are worried about their reproductive freedom, or their friend’s and family's freedom to choose. I am happy to have seen this bill move swiftly through the House. Stay tuned for more of our work on reproductive freedom.
Redistricting Update
Attention: As a result of redistricting, you may have a new state representative. To find out if your state representative has changed, click here. To change your email subscription, visit the Subscriber Preferences Page. If you have questions or experience technical difficulties with this subscription service, please click here.
Stay in Touch
If you have questions, ideas, or feedback that you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can email me at rep.jessica.hanson@house.mn.gov or call (651) 296-4212. For more regular updates, you can subscribe to these regular legislative updates if you haven’t already, here, and you can also “like” and follow my official State Representative Facebook page.
Sincerely,
Jess Hanson
State Representative