Dear Neighbors,
I’m very grateful for the trust you gave me earlier this month with the opportunity to serve at the State Capitol for another term. Serving as your state representative is a wonderful honor, and I look forward to the work we can accomplish together during the next two years. Here are some updates from Saint Paul.
Minnesota House Committees
Heading into the 2019 session, with the DFL caucus taking over the majority in the Minnesota House, there will be a new roster of committees and chairs. This list of committees, divisions, and subcommittees and their chairs was announced last week. I’m encouraged by the inclusion of many of these, which means attention will be paid to issue areas which have had some long-term efforts, particularly early childhood education, clean water, and adequate housing that individuals and families can afford.
I would expect the full list of committee members will be announced in the next couple of weeks.
Strengthening the Legislative Process
Another new panel I’m excited about is the Rules Subcommittee on Legislative Process Reform to be chaired by Rep. Gene Pelowski of Winona. As we recall, the previous few legislative sessions have resulted in massive bills spanning hundreds of pages with little time to absorb their contents in the sessions’ final hours. This has led to complete breakdowns on multiple occasions leaving the public completely shut out and important work for the people of Minnesota incomplete. There’s been a growing recognition that this needs to change and the legislature needs to proactively implement reforms ensuring it can.
Rep. Pelowski has been working on this issue for some time, dating back to 2008, a year in which he prepared a report with a variety of recommendations, some of which have been adopted, but many which have not. He convened two informational meetings this week, one of which I attended, and House Public Information Services has a good summary of the proceedings here.
Real ID Compliance
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security gave us good news last week by declaring Minnesota is in full compliance with the federal Real ID law. This means that officially, the state is on track to issue Real ID-compliant drivers licenses and ID cards by the deadline of October 1, 2020 for commercial air travel and or to enter certain federal facilities. While they aren’t required until 2020, they are available now. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety has more information here.
The 2019 Minnesota legislative session starts at noon on Tuesday, January 8. As always, don’t hesitate to reach out with your ideas and input, or if I can ever be of assistance. It’s an honor to represent you at the State Capitol.
Sincerely,
Laurie Pryor
State Representative