Dear Neighbors,
Happy New Year! I hope this message finds you and your family doing well as we get to work at the Minnesota House. Here’s an update from the Capitol.
Last Tuesday I was sworn in as your State Representative. I am honored to serve as our community’s voice at the Capitol. This session, we have a great opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of all Minnesotans. I look forward to working in collaboration with my colleagues in the House, Senate, and the executive branch to pass meaningful and effective legislation.
I have been appointed Vice Chair of the Climate and Energy Finance and Policy Committee. I will also serve on the Commerce Finance and Policy, Sustainable Infrastructure Policy, and Transportation Finance and Policy committees.
The first weeks of session were a whirlwind! I’ve been getting to know my colleagues and learning a lot about the Minnesota House of Representatives. I’m getting my office set up (including a selection of ice cream) and have gotten straight to work for our community. It’s incredibly exciting to be moving with urgency to take action for the people of Minnesota. You can watch House and Senate leadership discuss our shared priorities here.
To be clear: this isn’t an exhaustive list of everything we’re looking to accomplish, but these priorities represent our shared values as Minnesotans and ways we can make our state work better for everybody.
TikTok
You may have heard that I went viral on Tiktok with my good friend Rep. Frank Hornstein. My main reason for posting to Tiktok is to engage with younger voters. I'm hoping that demystifying the Minnesota House and our procedures in new, fun, and interesting ways will help younger voters feel like our government is accessible to them. You can read more about my Tiktok here.
At the Capitol
On the topic of youth engagement in government, my first bill presentation was HF 110, which allows 16 & 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote and passed the Elections Finance Committee. Our democracy works best when more people of every generation, race, gender, background, and political persuasion participate. We heard Secretary of State Steve Simon, St. Louis Park High School student Isaac Israel, and college students from across the state testify in support of the bill. Both Republican and Democratic-leaning states have already implemented similar bills with fantastic results. I look forward to Minnesota being the next state to encourage our youth to participate in our democracy.
Many of you may know that I got into politics to address the climate crisis. I’m glad my committee assignments reflect my desire to preserve our planet for generations to come. I signed onto HF 7, which requires Minnesota to transition to 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040. This is a commitment to our future and our children’s future. Stay tuned for more action on this front.
Redistricting Update
Attention: As a result of redistricting and retirements, you may have a new state representative. To find out if your state representative or senator has changed, click here. To change your email subscription, visit the Subscriber Preferences Page. If you have questions or experience technical difficulties with this subscription service, please click here.
Stay in Touch
If you have questions, ideas, or feedback that you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can email me at rep.larry.kraft@house.mn.gov or call (651) 296-7026. For more regular updates, you can subscribe to these regular legislative updates if you haven’t already, here, and you can also “like” and follow my official State Representative Facebook page.
Sincerely,
Larry Kraft
State Representative