Dear Neighbors,
I hope you are able to get out and enjoy the improving weather. The legislative session is coming to an end as we are constitutionally required to adjourn Monday and will return to the Capitol next February. We have been busy passing many impactful bills, and I would like to highlight some of them here.
1. Education Budget Bill - Including Key Provisions I Authored
- On Tuesday, we passed the Education Budget Bill Conference Report. The Senate passed it as well, and it’s awaiting the Governor’s signature.
- It includes a key provision in a bill I introduced that will increase the per student amount of funding (the “general formula”) for public schools by 4% this year and 2% next year. After that, schools will get inflationary increases.
- The inflationary adjustment will help our schools make long-term, strategic investments. And it will make sure future political gridlock at the Capitol doesn’t prevent our students and teachers from having the resources they need.
2. Bill Protecting Firefighters to Become Law - Helping our Local Heroes
- Throughout the session, I’ve highlighted the dangers of PFAS “forever chemicals” and how our firefighters are especially at risk.
- My bill to phase out the use of firefighting foam with PFAS was included in the Environment and Energy Budget Bill. This legislation also contains my proposals for a study on how to eliminate PFAS from firefighting gear and to establish voluntary biomonitoring for firefighters.
- The bill passed the House and Senate yesterday and is on its way to the Governor’s desk!
3. Final Jobs Bill Passes - Including Provisions to Boost Workforce
- Early this week we passed our Jobs and Labor Conference Committee Report.
- I hear frequently from businesses about their challenges finding workers. As a result, I drafted several provisions to boost our local workforce that were included in the bill:
- Helmets to Hardhats which transitions veterans and active-duty military into construction careers.
- Youthbuild which introduces youth to careers in the trades by building affordable housing.
- YWCA Minneapolis’s program to help people prepare for early childhood education careers.
- Greater Twin Cities United Way’s Career Academies which prepare young people for careers in high-demand fields like healthcare, manufacturing, engineering, and IT.
Stay in Touch
Please feel free to reach out to me by email at rep.matt.norris@house.mn.gov or by phone at 651-296-2907. If you have a friend, neighbor, or relative who wants to receive updates about the Legislature, let them know they can subscribe to my email list here, and follow my Facebook here. It’s an honor to represent our community. Please stay in touch!
Sincerely,
Matt Norris, District 32B
507 State Office Building
St. Paul, MN 55155