The bill would add children’s advocacy centers to the list of “victim assistance programs,” enabling them to receive proceeds from fines imposed on people convicted of assault or criminal sexual misconduct. You can read more about my bill here.
The next step in the legislative process will be for the Senate to pass the bill. Delivering Support to the Iron Range In Minnesota, we look out for our workers. We lend a helping hand when they need it, and with the recent news that nearly 600 miners will be laid off by May, the Iron Range needs that helping hand. This week in the House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Committee, we heard a couple proposals to address this issue, largely focused on ensuring these workers would have an extension applied to their Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits. The House Republican proposal was contingent on environmental policy changes, and while I understand their desire to address that topic as well, these are two completely different issues that should stand on their own through the legislative process. After my amendment to make the Republican proposal a one-topic bill failed, the bill failed. Today, the committee heard my bill that solely focuses on extending the UI benefits, and I’m happy to say it advanced with unanimous support. Moving this bill forward is the process working as it should. Working together, we can deliver this support to the Iron Range soon. The next stop for this bill will be the House’s Committee on Ways and Means, and I hope we’ll see it on the House Floor in the coming weeks so we can deliver this extension in time. A “Landing Spot” for Federal Workers Hundreds of federal employees are also grappling with unemployment, having either already been laid off or face an uncertain future with rampant federal cuts. Last month, Governor Walz announced that the state had launched a new website aimed at connecting these workers with new jobs, whether within state government or the private sector. |