Neighbors, Happy New Year. I wish you a happy and healthy 2025! As the new legislative session begins, I am excited to continue serving on the Children and Families Finance and Policy, Higher Education Finance and Policy, and Human Services Finance and Policy Committees. Thank you for entrusting me to be your representative at the State Capitol.  New LawsA host of new laws have taken effect as of January 1. Highlights include banning hidden service fees, requiring insurance to cover the costs of wigs for Minnesotans undergoing cancer treatment, ensuring transparent pricing for concert tickets, protecting renters with a minimum heat requirement of 68 degrees, prohibiting the sale of “binary triggers” on firearms, and so much more. You can find a list of all of the new Minnesota laws here. Cold Weather RuleI want to remind you about Minnesota’s “cold weather rule” which protects residents from having their electric or natural gas service shut off between October 1 and April 30. To ensure your service is safe from disconnection, you must make and keep a payment plan agreed to by your utility provider. More information is available on the Minnesota Public Utilities website.  Stay Connected with the LegislatureIt 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. Please continue to reach out with any input, ideas, or feedback about the issues important to you. I value hearing from you, so call or email any time. You can find my information on my House website. You can also like my Facebook page, and follow me on Twitter. It is an honor to represent you at the State Capitol. Sincerely, Kim Hicks State Representative |