Week-in-Review Video
A message from your Senator
Constituents and friends,
Yesterday, Governor Walz announced a three-step timeline to end nearly all COVID-19 restrictions in Minnesota by May 28, and end the statewide masking requirement once 70 percent of Minnesotans ages 16 and older are vaccinated, or by July 1. This is very positive news as we move into what we hope will be a safe and close-to-normal summer! The full details of that announcement can be found here.
Conference committees for each of the Legislature’s omnibus budget bills have been appointed, and they began working this week to iron out the differences between the Senate and House versions of each respective bill before they’re sent to the Governor for consideration. I’m paying particularly close attention to the Transportation conference committee, given my position as the DFL vice-lead on the Transportation Committee and my career as a transportation engineer, as well as the Taxes conference committee, which, if negotiations go well, will contain one of my own bills related to the City of Plymouth.
A controversial bill passed the Senate this week, on a party-line vote, to impose Voter ID requirements on Minnesota’s future elections. Thankfully, it will never pass the DFL-majority House and is not supported by Governor Walz, because Voter ID requirements have been used by Republicans in state legislatures across the country to disenfranchise voters and make it more difficult for citizens to vote. In the video above, I described how Voter ID laws are especially burdensome on the elderly, who often no longer drive, have limited resources, can have significant difficulty accessing their birth certificates and tracking old name and address changes, and more. Minnesotans already rejected Voter ID laws in 2012 by voting down a Republican-supported constitutional amendment, and Republican arguments in favor of these laws are based on inaccurate fearmongering surrounding election security – they were an unfortunate waste of our valuable and limited time this week.
On Wednesday, I was proud to join several colleagues in front of the Capitol for an event organized by my friend, Senator Mary Kunesh, in recognition of a crisis facing Indigenous women: they make up less than 1 percent of our state’s population, yet they accounted for 8 percent of all women and girls murdered in Minnesota from 2010 through 2018. When Senator Kunesh was a member of the House, she co-chaired the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force, which just recently delivered a new report containing 20 recommendations to address systemic failures and help ensure the safety of Native women and girls. Senator Kunesh introduced legislation this year to fulfill one of the report’s top recommendations, the creation of a permanent Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relative office in Minnesota – the Republican Senate majority neither granted it a hearing earlier in the session nor included it in the Public Safety omnibus bill, but we will continue to support the work of colleagues like Senator Kunesh and Representative Heather Keeler to make real progress on this urgent issue.
Community News & Events
The Minnetonka City Council will meet virtually on Monday, May 10 at 6:30 pm. The agenda and viewing information can be found here.
The Plymouth City Council will meet virtually on Tuesday, May 11 at 7 pm. The agenda and viewing information can be found here.
On Tuesday, the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners voted to adopt a Climate Action Plan, which outlines how the county can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect our population from climate change. The plan includes transitioning to renewable energy sources, a reduction of overall energy use, preventing food waste, and building and maintaining green infrastructure. This is a smart and important plan – I’m proud to be represented at the county level by these forward-thinking policymakers!
COVID-19 Hotlines
- Hotline for health questions: 612-201-3920 or 1-800-657-3903 (staffed 6 am to 8 pm daily)
- Hotline for school and childcare questions: 651-297-1304 or 1-800-657-3504 (staffed 7 am to 7 pm daily)
- Questions for workers and employers: 651-259-7114 or 800-657-3858
- Hotline if you experience or witness bias and/or discrimination: 1-833-454-0148 (staffed Monday-Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm)
Please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time with input, questions, or concerns!
