Friends and Neighbors,
We have reached the halfway point of the legislative session, committee hearings got longer, and more bills were heard. I am grateful for the opportunity to reflect on the work my colleagues and I have accomplished together in the past three months. We would not be accomplishing our goals at the pace we are without the abundance of support, wisdom, and rallying of our local advocates and community leaders.
Now after a brief spring break recess, we’re excited to be back in the legislative session! Over the next few weeks, we will shift our focus to passing budget bills on the House Floor. Here is what we’ve been working on at the Capitol:
Inclusive School Facilities
The Minnesota House Education Finance Committee heard my school facilities legislation. The bill, HF 2925, would provide grants for school districts to construct gender-neutral restrooms and locker rooms in their school facilities. Our gender-expansive and trans youth are telling us they feel safer and more respected when they have the choice to choose which bathroom they want to use, plus there are a plethora of diverse needs that students may feel more comfortable being able to have privacy in a single-stall restroom.
This bill ensures the rights students have had for years are protected through investments and procedures that align with state and federal laws. Many school districts across the state are already adopting gender-neutral restrooms. The bill will establish a pilot project for ISD 709 and give schools across Minnesota an opportunity to apply for much needed funding to make sure all students and communities have the inclusive school facilities they need and deserve.
Trans Day of Visibility and Trans Refuge Bill
I am incredibly proud of Rep. Leigh Finke and the leadership of the entire Queer Caucus. The Trans Refuge bill ensures access to life-saving healthcare for all families in the state of Minnesota, including age-appropriate, gender-affirming care. This health care is founded on sound research and echoed by positive outcomes. Minnesotans trust each other to make these decisions with their families and health care providers. That’s why we’re incredibly grateful that the House of Representatives voted to protect the trans community and affirm the human rights, personal autonomy, and freedom of all trans, non-binary, Two Spirit, and gender expansive Minnesotans.
There was so much joy in the MN Capitol during the Trans Day of Visibility Rally! I was proud to be apart of the incredible display of love, defiance, and strength of our community. We're renewed and ready to keep fighting for queer liberation. Thank you to everyone who joined us, and those who couldn’t. This an extraordinary revolution and I am honored to be in it with you all.
Great Lakes Aquarium
I was proud to present my bill, HF 2622 in the Capital Investment Committee. The bill appropriates funding to the Lake Superior Center Authority to improve the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth. The Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth opened in 2000 and attracts approximately 200,000 visitors annually, including over 10,000 school kids. The facility cares for over 1,800 animals representing 235 species and provides a variety of interpretive and youth programming. However, the current facility does not have the capacity to meet its growing demand. The funding will allow them to improve water and energy conservation, make the facility more accessible, expand their educational offerings, and advance planning for exhibit expansion.
Regional Behavioral Health Crisis Facility
Another critical piece of legislation that will help improve the lives of Duluthians and neighbors is HF 2265. The bill appropriates $2.5 million for a grant via DHS to the Human Development Center for the a regional behavioral crisis facility. The Clarity Center for Wellbeing will be capable of triaging a person experiencing crisis, while identifying a recuperative path, all in one setting that’s equipped to respond to a growing need for mental health, behavioral health, and substance use services. It’s past time we invest in mental health and community care in a care model centers people, harm reduction, and is culturally affirming for youth and people of all ages. This will be a transformative investment in our region and will strengthen what our community is doing to fill in gaps and promote health and well-being.
Duluth International Airport
I was able to present my bill in the Capital Investment Committee to appropriate funding for the Duluth Airport Authority to support the construction of a new air traffic tower project. Proud to carry this bill and support the aviation cluster at the airport which employs over 6,200 people and has an annual economic impact of over $760 million on our region.
State Competitiveness Fund
I also voted “yes” to pass a bill ensuring that Minnesota is in the best position to unlock federal funds for clean energy projects, meet our climate goals, and transition to a cleaner future. The bill invests $115 million to unlock billions in federal funding and will create good-paying union jobs and ensure that everyone can benefit from this clean energy transition.
“Banning the Box”
On Monday March 27, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the “Ban the Box” legislation with an 82-47 vote. The bill, HF 375, chief authored by Rep. Athena Hollins (DFL-Saint Paul) will prohibit appointing authorities from inquiring into an employment applicant’s criminal history when making appointments to public boards, commissions, task forces, or other entities referred to in law as “multimember agencies.”
As we work towards building a more inclusive state, we must reform current laws that perpetuate systems of harm and isolation. People from BIPOC communities are disproportionately discouraged by the appointment application process when they should be encouraged to share their story of redemption, growth, and healing.
Prohibition of Private Prisons
When private prisons are focused solely on increasing profits and cutting costs, what they sacrifice is safety, both for the inmates and the people who work there. Prison corporations put their profits ahead of public safety, and our criminal justice system deserves better.
This session, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed House File 1200, which would effectively ban private prisons in the state. A 2016 report by the Justice Department found that, in general, private prisons provide fewer correctional services at greater security and safety risk to inmates and staff, without producing substantial savings.
Minnesota joins at least five other states that have passed legislation aiming to reduce, limit, or ban private prisons. President Biden issued an executive order in January 2021 that will phase out the Justice Department’s use of private prisons, and Minnesota has not had any private prisons since the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton closed in 2010.
$50 million in Emergency Rental Assistance
In the face of skyrocketing evictions and rent increases, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed House File 1440, which delivers $50 million in emergency rental assistance to the state’s Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program. The bill passed on a bipartisan vote of 73-50.
Through much of the pandemic, federal rental assistance allowed Minnesotans to maintain housing stability. Many of those funds dried up in January of 2022, but the economic challenges facing low-income families did not. As a result, Minnesota experienced a skyrocketing eviction rate last year with more than 20,000 filed. Many counties across the state have seen 100% increases in eviction filings over pre-pandemic levels including Pipestone, Grant, Olmstead, Clay, Wadena, Chippewa, Roseau, Jackson and Yellow Medicine County. Every Minnesotan deserves a safe, warm roof over their head, and this funding will help many families who are in need.
Recent Events at Tennessee Legislature
On April 6, Tennessee House Republicans voted to expel two Black Democratic legislators, Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson of the General Assembly for “disorderly behavior” after three members led protest chants for gun safety on the Floor of the chamber last week. I am thankful that Rep. Justin Jones and Rep. Justin Pearson were reinstated.
The Tennessee House Republicans continue to fail to act on gun reform to protect innocent lives from deadly consequences. Instead, they have doubled down in a horrifying attack on democracy, rooted in anti-Blackness and white supremacy. These events are a glaring reminder that institutional racism is alive and well and the fight for justice continues.
Not only was the expulsion of these Representatives an injustice to the members, but in doing so, it left nearly 140,000 Tennesseans without the Representation they elected. Here in Minnesota, we are taking steps to ensure our democracy and the people’s voices are uplifted and honored by working to pass bills like the Democracy for the People Act and Rank Choice Voting. On March 3, Governor Tim Walz signed into law the largest expansion of voting rights in Minnesota in the last half-century. The law restores voting rights for over 55,000 formerly incarcerated people in Minnesota.
Let’s Keep In Touch
It is easy to stay connected to news from the State Capitol. 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.
If you haven’t yet, you can “like” and follow my new Facebook page to keep up with my work. I also invite you to contact my office with any questions or comments you may have at (651) 296-2228 or rep.alicia.kozlowski@house.mn.gov.
Please don’t hesitate to continue reaching out with any input, ideas, or feedback about the issues important to you.
In community,
Rep. Alicia Kozlowski
(They/Them)
Minnesota House of Representatives
Committee Assignments: