Friends and Neighbors,
The 2020 Legislative Session has now begun. My colleagues and I came back to the Capitol on Tuesday, and we have a lot of work to do over the next few months. Our May 18 adjournment will be here before we know it, and there are several priorities that we are focusing on.
The major focus for this year is on passing a capital investment bill, or more commonly called bonding bill. I have introduced several bonding requests for our area including repairs for Anoka-Ramsey Community College, safety improvements for Highways 10, 47, and 65, upgrades at the National Sports Center, and funding for the Mighty Ducks Grant Program to replace coolant systems for ice rinks throughout the state.
I’m also carrying the bonding requests for two projects in Blaine that will help Minnesota’s first responders. The first is funding for a Greater Twin Cities Regional Public Safety Training Facility that will provide a state of the art training opportunity for police and firefighters. The second is a new State Emergency Operations Center which can serve as a centralized location for responding to emergency and disaster situations.
In addition to the bonding bill, we will also have discussions on hot button issues. With a divided legislature, the views in the DFL-controlled House and GOP-controlled Senate are quite different, and compromise may be difficult. I am hopeful we can finally take real action on insulin affordability and access, so thousands of diabetic Minnesotans can afford their lifesaving medication.
Most importantly, I want to hear from you on the issues that you care about and what you think we should be focused on this year. Please contact me to share your questions, comments, and ideas on any issue. Get in touch by phone at 651-296-2556 or by email at sen.jerry.newton@senate.mn.
Thank you and have a great weekend,
Jerry Newton
State Senator
District 37