April 9. 2021
Important Notice About Emails
Late yesterday evening my colleagues and I were informed of a glitch with the Senate website that caused some emails to not go through between 8:30am on Friday, April 2 and 1pm on Thursday, April 8. The issue is now resolved, but the messages may not be retrievable. If you reached out during that time and did not receive a reply, please resend your message. I deeply apologize for the inconvenience.
Controversial Education Bill Moves Forward
On Wednesday in the Senate Education Committee we voted on this year’s omnibus education bill. I was disappointed to see vouchers included in this bill, as well as a lack of investment in the basic funding formula. Per-pupil state aid adjusted to inflation has failed to keep up with our need for almost the past 20 years. There was also a provision that discriminates against transgender students, and I cannot support that.
There was some good language in the bill regarding recruiting and retaining teachers of color, but more is needed. We need to do better for our students, parents, teachers, and critical staff. That is why it did not earn my vote. You can hear more of my thoughts in this week’s video by clicking HERE.
Passing Third Deadline
Today is the Senate’s third committee deadline. After today, all committees except Finance, Taxes, Capital Investment, and Rules can no longer take action on bills. Moving forward, session will largely be focused around voting on committee omnibus bills. Beginning next week, Floor sessions will be taking place Monday – Thursday, as more bills will be coming before the full Senate.
Due to COVID-19, admittance to the Senate building and Capitol has not changed. As more people get vaccinated though, we can hopefully open up before the end of May.
Some of the groups I’ve met with virtually this week have been:
- Community education directors
- Liquor legislation advocates
- Menstrual equity advocates
- Former students looking to pursue careers in public service.
Hopefully we can return to in-person meetings at the capitol before session ends. I can’t wait to see you all face-to-face.
Preserving Minnesota’s Clean Water, Land, and Legacy
On a bipartisan note, we passed the Senate Legacy Bill out committee this week. This legislation appropriates funds using the 0.38% sales tax approved by voters with the 2008 Legacy Amendment. The bill distributes money to preserve Minnesota’s water, land, arts, and cultural heritage. Some of the bills I had included in this year’s omnibus were:
- Funding for the Minnesota Historical Society
- Funding for the Minnesota Humanities Center
- Funding for civic education grants.
You can see more of what’s in the bill by viewing the spreadsheet, which can be found by clicking HERE.
The Unheard Bills of 2021
As we pass the halfway point in session, some impactful bills unfortunately did not have a chance to be heard. These unheard bills include:
- Expanded background checks on gun purchases (SF 894)
- Permanent implementation of our price-gouging prohibition (SF 844)
- COVID-19 relief bill for schools (SF 64)
- Paid Family and Medical Leave (SF 1205)
- Earned sick and safe time (SF 29)
- Adult-use recreational cannabis (SF 757)
- The humane pet store bill (SF 370)
- Catalytic convertor theft prevention (SF 890)
- No-cost access to menstrual products for students (SF 239)
There were many, many others as well. It is disappointing that so many great ideas still have not had their due consideration.
Some of the idea’s I’ve heard you write in about this week have been:
- COVID-19 vaccinations
- Environmental protection
- Affordable housing
- Police reform
- Reproductive rights
Thank you to everyone who exercised their civic duty this week.