Legislative Update – February 27, 2023
Dear Neighbors
Thank you to everyone who came out to attend our District 42 Town Hall with me, Representative Ginny Klevorn, and Senator Bonnie Westlin. We had a fantastic turnout, and I appreciated the opportunity to connect with you all and provide an update about our work here at the legislature—where we have been moving swiftly to pass important legislation to help Minnesotans.
Chankahda Trail Update
The Capital Investment Committee, upon which I serve, released its proposal for a bonding bill to fund hundreds of infrastructure projects across the state. These projects are crucial to communities across Minnesota, including ours, which is why I am proud to serve on this committee to better advocate for our district.
I am pleased to announce that our community’s request, a bill I authored to provide funding to improve Chankahda Trail (formerly County Road 47), was included in the bonding proposal! This funding will help the city of Plymouth to begin designing, engineering, and constructing improvements to Chankahda Trail.
House Floor Votes
The Minnesota House has been working hard to pass bills helping children and families. We passed legislation to fund early learning scholarships while raising reimbursement rates for childcare providers in the Child Care Assistance Program. We also passed a bill to guarantee that all Minnesota workers have access to Earned Sick and Safe Time, ensuring families don’t have to choose between caring for a sick family member and earning a paycheck. These bills will help make Minnesota a more welcoming, safe, and supportive state for children and families.
Last Monday, we passed legislation to crack down on catalytic converter theft. Our bill aims to deter thieves and bad actors by changing state laws governing the possession of catalytic converters by individuals and the purchase of catalytic converters by scrap metal dealers. Local law enforcement has testified in support of this bill, and I was proud to vote yes.
We also voted to create an Office of Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls. Black Minnesotans have told us that they experience a lack of urgency from our public institutions when Black women and girls are reported missing. This office builds upon work done in the past for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and will support our community members who are closest to the pain of not knowing what has happened to a missing family member or loved one.
Stay Connected!
To share your input or ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance, please feel free to reach out at rep.ned.carroll@house.mn.gov or 651-296-3869, and I will be happy to help!
Sincerely,
Ned Carroll
State Representative