Tag: John Hoffman

Welcome to 2018.  I hope you all enjoyed the holiday season connecting with family and friends and are following through on your new years resolutions. As we start the new year I want to continue to keep you posted on what is happening in St. Paul that affects our Senate District and State.  I also want to keep you posted and in the loop as to what is happening in our Senate District.  I have had and will be having constituent meetings regarding three areas of interest; Education, Health and Human Services, Energy/Public Utilities.  These advisory meetings were talked about in the last news letter and those that have shown an interest in them have been followed up with emails and invites.  If you want to be a part of these quarterly meetings, please contact my office and let us know at jhoffman@senate.mn As part of my committee assignments I am involved in two continuing discussions; 1. Long Term Care and 2., Home Care working group that looks at the workforce shortage of nurses in Minnesota. This affects the healthcare that our elderly, people with disabilities and vulnerable populations receive. I invite your input and direction as to getting to the solutions that benefit our neighbors who are affected in those areas. I also hope you take the survey at the bottom of this newsletter as I am asking for your input on important issue areas that the Senate will be tackling in the coming session. Thank you again for letting me be your Senator and happy new year!

Sincerely,

Continue reading “Sen. John Hoffman (SD36) Update: January 12, 2018”

Dear Friends,

As the Christmas holiday quickly approaches, I’m reminded of this quote from Mary Ellen Chase – an important American literary scholar and graduate from the University of Minnesota: “Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind. ”

It is my hope that all of you can spend Christmas with your loved ones, and that your home is filled with good food, laughter and love. Continue reading “Sen. John Hoffman (SD36) Update: December 23, 2017”

Note: If you are using g-mail some of this email may be hidden. Look for the 3 dots to expand. 

Hello Neighbors and friends.  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Holiday and are getting ready for the winter season to begin. My thoughts are with you and your families as we enter into the New Year.  I hope you enjoy time with your family and friends. I want to share with you some features this month such as the upcoming MN budget forecast, Crescent Cove’s opening, highway 169 construction, providing shelter for veterans in Anoka, the healthcare reform committee meeting on MN-choices and childcare, and the Anoka Hennepin School Bonding Levy passing.  Also, I will be having three community advisory meetings in January preparing for the upcoming session highlighting: 1. Education, 2. Health and Human Services and 3. Energy.  Please contact my office at jhoffman@senate.mn and let me know if you would like to attend.  I will be following up with the dates once we secure them.  Thank you for letting me serve you and our great state.

Sincerely,

Senator John Hoffman Continue reading “Sen. John Hoffman (SD36) Update: December 1, 2017”

Hello,

I hope you have been enjoying our fall weather in Minnesota and are prepared for the winter ahead. In this update I want to share with you the new laws that went into effect this year, the cold weather rule, local elections that are around the corner, open enrollment and a Real ID update. Please feel free to contact me on any of these issues and have a happy Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,

Senator John Hoffman
Senate District 36

Continue reading “Sen. John Hoffman (SD36) Update: November 3, 2017”

Welcome to the end of session review.

The session began with a $1.65 billion surplus. the structural balance of the state budget was something that remained at the top of mine and my colleagues minds this session and throughout the days-long special session. Minnesotans expect their legislature to be accountable, accessible, and to complete their work on time, but these values have not been the hallmark of this session and special session. In the days leading up to the end of the regular session, the work of the legislature ground to a halt as Governor Dayton attempted to negotiate budget deals with Republican majorities in both legislative chambers. A few smaller budget bills, including agriculture and economic development, were passed in the wee hours of Monday morning. As the hours ticked by, agreements on major budget bills, including more than 70% of the budget remained unresolved, resulting in a three day special session. Continue reading “Sen. John Hoffman Update: May 26, 2017”

Welcome to week seventeen. With just over two weeks left to negotiate a more than $40 billion budget for the next two years, there is a wide gulf between House and Senate Republicans and DFLers. Caucus leaders from both parties met behind closed doors with Governor Dayton this week to outline a framework to begin budget negotiations.

Before numbers can be agreed to, Governor Dayton has made it clear Republicans must remove the more than 600 policy provisions currently in the budget bills. These provisions run the gamut from halting any future light rail projects to limiting the department of agriculture from governing the use of harmful pesticides to eliminating 40-years’ worth of campaign finance reforms. Continue reading “Sen. John Hoffman Update: May 5, 2017”

Welcome to week sixteen. The Senate Republicans released their targets this morning and I am disappointed with what I see. When Governor Dayton took over 6 years ago, we had frequent budget deficits and an unwillingness to compromise. Governor Dayton and the DFL majority decided to fix this by taxing the top 2% of Minnesotans and ended up with balanced budgets for the past 4 years. The current Senate and House majorities have inherited this balanced budget and their proposals are going to undo this and result in the State of Minnesota having a deficit next biennium.  Continue reading “Sen. John Hoffman Update: April 28, 2017”

Welcome to week 15. I hope you had a good Passover/Easter week. There have been many conference committees meeting this week as there are major differences between the Senate, House, and Governor’s budget proposals that affect the next two years. Conference committees will need plenty of time with their budget targets to come to agreements. From there they still need to be voted on in each legislative body and then sent to Governor Mark Dayton. Governor Dayton has sent letters highlighting priorities and if these bills don’t match them. I would expect him to veto. Continue reading “Sen. John Hoffman Update: April 21, 2017”