Category: SD48

Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: July 2, 2018

July, 2018

End of Session Column: 2018 Legislative Session Serves As a Teachable Moment

Below is a column that appeared in early June in several local papers:

The 2018 legislative session ended at midnight Sunday, May 20. During the past several weeks, I spent a lot of time reflecting on what happened.

Political pundits are framing the session as a failure in which everything came crashing down and nothing got done. Depending on who you ask, some would blame Republican legislative majorities for the dysfunction, while others would attribute it to DFL Gov. Mark Dayton. An “us vs. them” narrative overlooks members of the public who for months poured their hearts and souls into the causes they care about. Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: July 2, 2018”

Rep. Laurie Pryor (HD48A) Update: June 12, 2018

Dear Neighbors,

Earlier this summer, I had the opportunity to attend the Memorial Day ceremony in Eden Prairie. It was a moving event giving those of us in attendance an opportunity to reflect on service and sacrifice. In addition to honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice, the event recognized veterans and active duty service members.
While there, Sen. Steve Cwodzinski and I visited with Eden Prairie Fire Chief George Esbensen. We discussed a bipartisan success from this past legislative session which was a breakthrough regarding the recognition of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and others. Previously, if one of these first responders experienced PTSD, they would often run into roadblocks to attaining workers compensation awards. Continue reading “Rep. Laurie Pryor (HD48A) Update: June 12, 2018”

Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: June 1, 2018

June, 2018

Governor Dayton Takes Action On Legislation

Governor Mark Dayton has officially signed the last bill of his career: a bipartisan pension plan that passed the Senate unanimously and will secure retirement benefits for generations to come. He also signed a bonding bill into law, which helps establish a new facility for the Hennepin County Medical Examiner in Minnetonka near Glen lake and provides funding for metro parks.

The governor also vetoed two major pieces of legislation: the omnibus spending bill and the omnibus tax bill. Both bills had good bipartisan pieces of legislation, however they also contained provisions that the governor had promised to veto. I believe that the root of our problem was in having bills that were simply too large. Provisions we all agreed on were lumped in with bills we were still debating, and so bipartisan agreements on elder care and opioid overdose prevention end up not getting signed into law. I believe that this session provided our state with a teachable moment about how we can better serve the people of Minnesota. We need to follow our state constitution’s single-subject clause. Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: June 1, 2018”

Legislative Q&A: House District 48A Rep. Laurie Pryor

The following article by Patty Dexter was posted on the Eden Prairie News website May 29, 2018:

The 2018 legislative session ended on Sunday, May 20.

The newspaper contacted Rep. Laurie Pryor for a Q&A reviewing the session

What are your thoughts about how this year’s legislative session went?

While the legislative session had some bright spots, it ended with many missed opportunities. State conformity to the recent federal tax changes should have been done in bipartisan fashion, but legislative leaders insisted on playing politics. We had an opportunity to address our persistent opioid crisis, but big pharma was able to deflect responsibility to pay for prevention strategies. Our seniors and vulnerable adults deserve greater protections in care facilities, but all that was ultimately considered were some watered-down policies and a task force. Continue reading “Legislative Q&A: House District 48A Rep. Laurie Pryor”

Legislative Q&A: District 48 Sen. Steve Cwodzinski

The following article by Patty Dexter was posted on the Eden Prairie News website May 29, 2018:

The 2018 legislative session ended on Sunday, May 20.

The newspaper contacted Sen. Steve Cwodzinski for a Q&A reviewing the session

What are your thoughts about how this year’s legislative session went?

I love going to work at the Capitol and working with all the amazing people there, so in that sense it was great. However, I feel like we had a lot of missed opportunities. No action was taken on gun-violence prevention or distracted driving. Legislation on opioid abuse and elder care could have passed unanimously, but instead they were included in a 990-page document that the governor had promised to veto. Our state constitution has a single-subject clause stating that a bill can only be about one issue. Following our constitution may have led to a more successful session. Continue reading “Legislative Q&A: District 48 Sen. Steve Cwodzinski”

Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: May 21, 2018

End of Session 2018

Senate Adjourns Sine Die

The state legislature has officially adjourned for the year, and my first biennium as a state senator is completed. Most of the legislation that we worked on this year was wrapped up into a 990-page supplemental budget, and while there are a lot of items in there that I have concerns with, I am incredibly proud to say that one of my top priorities made it into the bill. Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: May 21, 2018”

Rep. Laurie Pryor (HD48A) Update: May 18, 2018

Dear Deb,

I want to thank everyone who attended our Town Hall Meeting last weekend. It was another good discussion about the issues important to those in our community. I deeply value how engaged people are with their government.
The final hours of the legislative session are here; we must adjourn by Monday and cannot consider any bills after midnight Sunday night. Many of the questions at the town hall were around topics that unfortunately have yet to see significant action. I share in the frustration with many that partisan forces have stopped critically needed legislation with broad public support. Continue reading “Rep. Laurie Pryor (HD48A) Update: May 18, 2018”

Rep. Laurie Pryor (HD48A) Update: May 11, 2018

Dear Deb,

We have just over a week left in the legislative session. We must adjourn by Monday, May 21, but no bills can be passed that day. Since we don’t reconvene until Monday, in essence, six days remain for legislation to be considered. In these final days, I’m committed to putting our community’s needs and values at the forefront. Here’s an update from the Capitol.

Town Hall Meeting

Here’s one more reminder about tomorrow’s Town Hall Meeting in Eden Prairie. With such a short time left in the session I’m deeply interested in hearing from those in the community, so I hope you’ll attend and share your thoughts with Sen. Cwodzinski and me. Continue reading “Rep. Laurie Pryor (HD48A) Update: May 11, 2018”

Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: May 11, 2018

Week of May 7th – 11th

Celebrating Teacher Appreciation Day

Our nation celebrated Teacher Appreciation Day this Tuesday, and I am incredibly grateful to have spent my career working with some amazing educators. You can check out some of my thoughts in this week’s video by clickingHERE

This picture was taken during my first year of teaching at Eden Prairie High School!

Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: May 11, 2018”

Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: May 4, 2018

Week of April 30th – May 4

Governor Dayton Proposes Emergency School Aid

On Tuesday this week, Governor Dayton called for emergency school aid as many Minnesota school districts are facing budget shortfalls. Without aid, hundreds of educators and staff will be laid off at the end of the school year. I was honored that Governor Dayton asked me to speak at the press conference announcing his proposal, and you can view those comments by clicking HERE.

I even got a good laugh out of the governor during my speech. Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: May 4, 2018”