 Dear neighbors, We’re back at the Capitol! It is such a relief. Since my last newsletter, House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman announced a bipartisan power-sharing agreement that allowed the Minnesota House to begin lawfully conducting business last Thursday. We fought to protect the will of the voters, and we succeeded. As unpleasant as it was, and I know some of you disagreed with what we did, I’m confident we did the right thing consistent with our oaths of office. Democrats secured the power-sharing agreement we sought, and assurances that Representative Brad Tabke will be seated and will serve the term to which he was elected. Under the agreement, Republicans will control House Committees while they have a 67-66 advantage. They will both chair the committees and have a one-seat voting advantage. If the House returns to a 67-67 tie after a special election in Roseville (likely as this district leans heavily to the DFL), committees will be co-chaired by Democrats and Republicans and there will be an equal number of Democrats and Republicans on each committee. At that point, a bipartisan vote will be required to advance a bill out of committee. Per the Minnesota Constitution, passing any bill, including the budget, will take at least 68 votes, even during this time while the Republicans have a 67-66 advantage. I want to thank Melissa Hortman. In any negotiation, you don’t get everything you want, and one of the things she gave up for the good of our caucus and Minnesota, was that Lisa Demuth will be Speaker for the two-year term. There are restrictions on what Speaker Demuth can do, consistent with being in a likely soon-to-be tied House. Full details of the agreement are available here. Had Democrats previously gone to the Capitol without a power sharing agreement in place, Republicans would have kicked out Rep. Tabke, usurping the election in Shakopee. They would also have seized control of the chamber for two years, even when we return to a tie. Minnesotans delivered a tied House on Election Night, and this power sharing agreement allows us to govern in a way that reflects that outcome. This year, I will be serving on the Energy Finance and Policy, State Government Finance and Policy, and the Transportation Finance and Policy Committees. The first few committee hearings this week have been a bit bumpy, as Republicans are mostly bringing forward bills that have little chance of passing on the House Floor. But that is their prerogative now. I do hope that we quickly get to a point where we’re spending most of our time on bipartisan bills that can actually pass out of the House. I’ll be bringing some bills that I think will fit that definition, in areas including housing, clean energy economic development, electrical grid efficiency, transit, DWI policy, and mental health, to name a few. I’ll describe some of these bills in my next newsletter.  You’re Invited to a Town Hall!On Wednesday, February 26th from 7:00 to 8:30pm, I’ll be joining my District 46 colleagues Representative Cheryl Youakim and Senator Ron Latz for a town hall at St. Louis Park City Hall (5005 Minnetonka Blvd, St Louis Park, MN 55416). No RSVP is needed; I’m excited to discuss our top issues this session and hope to see you there!  Come visit me at the CapitolI love to have constituents visit me at the Capitol (our offices are temporarily at the Centennial Office Building). Meetings have started - and I will share more in the next newsletter, but remember that I make ice cream and serve it to constituent visitors! Chocolate Sorbet & Coffee Chip were served with some informative discussions with Sydney and Amanda from the Minnesota Social Service Association about the challenges and importance of case management for long-term care services for folks with disabilities. You can learn more about their mission here. And that’s my intern Sanket with us too - he’s doing a terrific job, and I’m excited to share more about his hard work in a subsequent newsletter.  In Our CommunityRecently, I attended an incredible and inspiring event by the Youth for Change Coalition and Children First. The students analyzed data about St. Louis Park student mental health which has led them to focus on steps to improve it in the LGBTQ student community. Given what is going on nationally, they are showing how community-focused work and support are now more important than ever.   I had an excellent tour of LIUNA’s local training facility. Passing excavation policy reform last year was a priority of mine, and it’s fulfilling to see more of the tools and equipment in action.  I had the honor of meeting with Cooper, a Junior from Stillwater, to answer questions about the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact for a paper he was writing. We passed this in Minnesota in 2023, and I was a co-author of the bill. While we were meeting, we also talked about how to get more young people civically engaged, and I learned that Cooper was pre-registered to vote. This is one of my favorite bills I’ve authored which allows 16 and 17-year-old Minnesotans to pre-register to vote. This is a great bill because of the values it celebrates, that democracy works best when more people of every generation, race, gender, background and political persuasion participate. Encouraging young people to build relationships with the political process as early as possible helps make voting a lifelong habit.  |