Thank you for the honor of representing our fabulous community. It really was an uplifting experience to have been part of what I think is the “Minnesota Miracle” 2023 legislative session. By focusing on people and investing in Minnesotans, we accomplished so much transformative policy to make Minnesota the best place to live, work and raise a family - with a clean and sustainable environment - and where people have the personal freedom to live their best lives. Personally, I was the lead author of fourteen pieces of legislation that became law. These bills ranged from strengthening the voices of young Minnesotans to making key systemic changes to tackle climate change to addressing our mental health crisis. To learn more, this link will direct you to a summary information about each piece of legislation. Here are a few highlights of the Minnesota Miracle of 2023: Making Minnesota the Best Place to Live, Work & Raise a Family: - Reversed decades of underfunding education with $6B of investments over the next four years and by linking the general education formula to inflation for the future - Made significant investments in childcare and early learning affordability including bolstering childcare providers by increasing payments to the Child Care Assistance Program for lower-income families - Passed the largest investment in affordable housing in the state’s history - Increased Higher Education funding by 18.5% - Created a new child tax credit that will reduce childhood poverty in Minnesota by 33% - Provided free school breakfast and lunch for ALL Minnesota children - Passed Paid Family Medical Leave, so nobody has to be forced to choose between earning a paycheck and caring for themselves or a family member. - Prohibited pharmaceutical companies from price gouging generic drugs during times of declared emergencies. - Enacted commonsense gun violence prevention measures, including universal background checks, and red flag laws With a Clean and Sustainable Environment - Put 100% Clean Energy by 2040 bill into law and are now set on the path to being a leader in the clean energy future. - Authorized over $315 million from the federal IIJA to improve roads, bridges, transit, broadband internet access, water treatment facilities, and lead pipe replacement. - Created a State Competitiveness Fund of almost $200M to provide local matching funds for federal grants for IRA and IIJA climate & energy projects - Enacted a nation-leading ban on non-essential uses of man-made PFAS chemicals, linked to cancer and other illnesses. - My Climate Smart Transportation and Land Use legislation reduces greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, our top source of emissions, and incorporates climate-conscious land use planning into all metro cities' planning. Where people have the Personal Freedom to live their best lives: - Codified Roe v. Wade into Law, ensuring MN politicians stay out of people’s reproductive care decisions - Banned workplace discrimination based on natural hair - Made Minnesota a Trans Refuge State for gender-affirming care and banned the discredited practice of “conversion therapy” - Improved access to voting with the Democracy for the People Act, including my bill to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote, establishing an early connection with the political process New Laws Going into Effect July 1Starting July 1st, there are several new laws taking effect. New laws include increases in funding for agriculture, education, renewable energy, public safety, and elections. Among the key bills taking effect are free school breakfast and lunch for all K-12 students, protecting healthcare workers against violence, limits on no-knock warrants, funding for rural broadband, free college tuition for income-eligible students, and more. To read information from nonpartisan House Public Information and House Research about the new laws, click here and here. Local Events in our CommunityThis month, our local communities are enjoying all that Minnesota summers have to offer. Keep your eye out for these events, including 4th of July fireworks at Aquila Park, Skateapalooza at Carpenter Park Skate Park, the West End Block Party at The Shops at West End, and so much more. I’ve been busy around the community and beyond since session ended. Recently, I had the opportunity to tour the Perpich Center for Arts Education organized by Rep Cherly Youakim. Full disclosure - this is where my kid graduated from! For the right Minnesota high school student focused on the arts (and it is open to students statewide), this is a great program. |