Progress at the CapitolWe recently passed two bills to improve access to affordable childcare and early learning centers. Parents have been talking for years about the growing unaffordability of child care. This has caused many parents to forgo further education or employment, and since the pandemic, we have seen many parents struggle to get back into the workforce because they can’t afford or find adequate child care. Early childhood learning, especially in the first five years of life, makes a huge impact on long-term social, cognitive, and physical development. While Minnesota parents are working to contribute to our economy, their children should be able to attend a high-quality early learning program. These two bills are crucial to closing our educational achievement gaps. Affordable child care, especially for very young children, is one of the most impactful investments we can make in our kids' lifelong well-being.  On Monday, we passed a slate of bills that will make Minnesota a safer and more inclusive state. We passed a ban on conversion ‘therapy’ for children and vulnerable adults. This is a dangerous and discredited practice that causes deep, lasting trauma to our 2SLGBTQ+ neighbors. You can watch my floor speech on the conversion ‘therapy’ ban here. Also, we passed a bill to establish The Office of Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls. We have a responsibility to address the disproportionate rates at which people inflict violence upon Black women and girls compared to white peers. Over 60,000 Black women and girls are missing in the United States, and Black women are more than twice as likely to be victims of homicide. Finally, we passed a bill to curb catalytic converter theft. This has been a significant issue in St. Louis Park that we talked about while I was on the city council. This bill will help us get to the root cause of the issue by changing state laws governing the possession of catalytic converters by individuals and the purchase of catalytic converters by scrap metal dealers. I was proud to support all of these bills and to see the House continue to move effectively and efficiently to improve the lives of all Minnesotans. |