Dear Friends and Neighbors, It was a busy week in St. Paul with much of my time spent in committee debating and voting on dozens of bills. With both the 1st and 2nd committee deadlines today, Friday, it is no surprise that this work has dominated the week. Despite the heavy workload, it was great to meet with so many of you who took the time to visit the capital this week! As always, if you plan on being in St. Paul anytime soon, please reach out to my office to set up a time to meet. It would be great to chat and learn about the issues that are most important to you. These conversations are so important in making sure that I represent you, your family, and our community as best as I can. Thank you for your support! SRO Fix Signed by Gov. WalzLate last week, Gov. Walz signed the bipartisan School Resource Officers (SROs) bill into law, making sure that our dedicated officers can return to their schools and continue their work building relationships with students. Getting this bill across the finish line was always about extending a hand and working together in the name of keeping our students, teachers, and schools safe. This is what Minnesotans want from their state government. They want lawmakers to listen, learn, lead, and work together to find solutions to the challenges facing our state and communities. Let’s get our SROs in schools now! I recently spoke with Twin Cities Public Television about this important issue. You can watch that story by clicking here or the photo below.  Rideshare Services in Jeopardy?Some troubling news to share as rideshare services, Uber and Lyft, have both said that they plan to leave the 7-county metro area on May 1st because of a new ordinance adopted by the Minneapolis City Council. Without action from the legislature, both Uber and Lyft will likely follow through on their promise to leave the Twin Cities. Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans depend on Uber and Lyft every week to get to work, travel to and from the airport, attend sporting events, and concerts, and for a sober ride home after a night out with friends. For us in Lakeville, these services provide much more than that. Four years ago, Dakota County partnered with Lyft to provide discounted rides to eligible citizens. Now, the program provides rides at discounted rates to more than 4,000 people with disabilities each year. If the legislature does not act, this critical service will leave our community and severely limit the mobility of thousands of our neighbors with disabilities. I am committed to working on a bipartisan solution to this to make sure that Uber and Lyft continue to operate and provide services in our community. Public Safety UpdateOn Wednesday, I joined colleagues at a news conference to discuss legislative proposals to support law enforcement, enhance public safety, and hold criminals accountable. During the event, I discussed my bill, House File 4837, which would allow local law enforcement agencies to use funds from last year’s $300 million public safety aid towards the purchase of armored, tactical vehicles. As things currently stand, agencies are not allowed to use last year’s public safety aid to purchase these life-saving vehicles. The tragedy in Burnsville is a recent example and sad reminder of the need for these vehicles to provide safety and protection for law enforcement officers during hostage situations or when someone has barricaded themselves in a home. |