Tag: Ryan Winkler

Cannabis legalization: Eden Prairie area residents sound off

Concerns, wishes, ideas expressed at 90-minute meeting

Julie Engle and Dean Luke don’t have much in common.

Engle is a 37-year-old mother of three young boys and lives in Minnetonka.

Luke is 80 and is a snowbird who lives in Eden Prairie during the warm months before heading south when the snow flies.

Both found themselves at the Eden Prairie Community Center with a microphone in hand at a Nov. 18 information meeting focused on cannabis legalization.

View the complete November 26 article by Raymond T. Revard on The Sun-Sailor website here.

Majority Leader statement on need for responsible vaping regulation

House DFL logoSAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, Majority Leader Ryan Winkler released the following statement responding to the risks associated with unregulated vaping products.

“The risks of unregulated vaping products on the market have emerged as a serious issue, and it demonstrates what happens when products are introduced into the marketplace without consumer protections. As we look to change Minnesota’s adult-use cannabis laws, we want to be sure to protect the health and safety of consumers with a responsible public health approach. Our response to vaping should be similarly deliberate.” 

House DFL Statement on Insulin Legislation

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Today, Governor Tim Walz called on Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka to take action on insulin affordability and begin negotiations with the House. In an October 1st letter to Gov. Walz, House Speaker Melissa Hortman announced that she asked Representatives Howard, Liebling, Halverson, and Mann to serve on an Emergency Access to Insulin Work Group to meet with the Senate and resolve the differences between the House and Senate bills.

Speaker Hortman and Majority Leader Ryan Winkler released the following statements:

“Minnesotans need and deserve access to emergency insulin — which the Senate bill doesn’t provide,” said Speaker Hortman. “The House DFL remains ready to work with Senate Republicans and the Walz Administration to find a solution that serves the needs of Minnesotans and holds the pharmaceutical industry accountable. Lives are at stake and it’s time for Senate Republicans to come to the table and begin working on a compromise with us. Governor Walz and I have named the individuals who can start working on this right away. We continue to wait for Senator Gazelka to name which Senators will speak for the Senate in a work group so we can commence negotiations on a compromise. Simply reiterating that he has taken a position different from ours doesn’t help anyone get emergency access to insulin.” Continue reading “House DFL Statement on Insulin Legislation”

Rep. Stephenson & Lawmakers get Tough on Predatory ‘Robo-Calls’

House DFL logoSAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, State Representative Zack Stephenson (DFL- Coon Rapids) announced plans to roll out legislation to crack down on invasive and predatory ‘robo-calls’. House Commerce Chair Laurie Halverson (DFL- Eagan) and Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) joined Rep. Stephenson and are committed to advancing his efforts to strengthen consumer protection rights for Minnesotans.

“The explosion of fraudulent robo-calls demands a strong response, which is why I am today proposing the nation’s toughest anti-robo-call legislation,” Rep. Stephenson remarked.

According to the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Minnesotans have received over 387 million robo-calls so far in 2019, which is approximately 58 calls per impacted person. The pernicious nature of these robo-calls is dubbed as “spoofing” technology, which allows telephone calls originating from across the world to show up on a caller ID with a local area code. Eagan Police Chief Roger New reported last month that he expected telephone fraud to result in over $500,000 in losses just in his city. Continue reading “Rep. Stephenson & Lawmakers get Tough on Predatory ‘Robo-Calls’”

DFL Leaders Host Community Conversation on Cannabis in Minneapolis

House DFL logoMINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – Today, Majority Leader Ryan Winkler hosted a community conversation on cannabis with Assistant Senate Minority Leader Jeff Hayden, Sens. Bobby Joe Champion, Kari Dziedzic, and Foung Hawj; Reps. Raymond Dehn, Aisha Gomez, Fue Lee, and Diane Loeffler; and Associate Professor at Metro State University Dr. Raj Sethuraju at the Minneapolis Urban League.

The meeting was the second of 15 hosted by Rep. Winkler and legislators around the state to encourage Minnesotans to join the conversation on how to legalize and regulate cannabis for adult use.

“Minnesotans are asking us to change our cannabis laws because they are doing more harm than good,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “It’s been clear in our conversations that our current system is contributing to racial injustice, damaging public health, and limiting access for veterans.” Continue reading “DFL Leaders Host Community Conversation on Cannabis in Minneapolis”

Majority Leader Winkler Kicks Off Statewide Cannabis Conversations at State Fair

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Majority Leader Ryan Winkler today kicked off a statewide tour of 15 “Community Conversations on Cannabis” at the State Fair. The tour will encourage Minnesotans to join the conversation on how to legalize and regulate cannabis for adult use.

“Our current marijuana laws are doing more harm than good. It’s time to legalize cannabis to address the health and criminal justice inequities created by our current system,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “That’s why we’re inviting Minnesotans to join the conversation about how we will safely and responsibly create a comprehensive framework for legalization and the most thoughtful adult-use cannabis law in the country.” 

Details on the community conversations and updates on the effort to legalize cannabis in Minnesota are available on a new website. The first three will be in Duluth, Minneapolis, and St. Cloud.

In an op-ed written earlier this month, Rep. Winkler announced that legalizing cannabis for adult use will be a legislative priority during the 2020 session. Since then, the Majority Leader’s Office has been meeting with stakeholders to seek their input on crafting legislation.

Statement from House DFL Leadership on Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act

House DFL logoSAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — House Speaker Melissa Hortman and House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler released the following statements on bipartisan negotiations on the Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act:

“I appreciate the work done by a bipartisan group of legislators to address insulin affordability and emergency access this interim,” said Speaker Hortman. “While it’s encouraging that they appear close to agreement on how a program would function, it seems the funding source remains a sticking point. Insulin costs have nearly tripled in the last two decades and the corporate greed fueling this crisis is unconscionable. That’s why the DFL majority in the Minnesota House passed and sent to conference a complete plan that would both help Minnesotans and hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable. We remain ready to move forward. I’m hopeful in the coming weeks we will be able to get an agreement with Senate Republicans on funding.”

“House DFLers remain committed to addressing the high price of insulin and standing up to the pharmaceutical companies profiting off of Minnesotans,” said Majority Leader Winkler. “This bipartisan progress is positive news, but there is more work to be done to finalize the funding source and ensure Minnesotans have access to the insulin they need to survive.”

Statement from House DFL Leadership on changes in leadership at the Minnesota Department of Human Services

House DFL logoSAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Today, Governor Walz announced Tony Lourey’s resignation as commissioner of the Department of Human Services, and appointed Pam Wheelock as acting commissioner.

House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Majority Leader Ryan Winkler released the following statements:

“We are grateful to Tony Lourey for his years of service and dedication to Minnesotans,” said Speaker Hortman. “The work of the Department of Human Services is critical to the people of Minnesota and we are ready to work with Governor Walz and his administration to ensure its success.”

“We have confidence in the Walz administration and look forward to working together with Interim Commissioner Wheelock to make sure the Department of Human Services serves the needs of Minnesotans,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler.

House Committee Holds Public Meeting to Discuss Improvements to Budget Process

House DFL logoSAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — On Wednesday, the Minnesota House Subcommittee on Legislative Process Reform held the first of several public meetings to review the legislative budget process and seek improvements. Nonpartisan staff gave an overview of legislative process reform, the budget cycle, and the omnibus bill process.

“Minnesotans expect and deserve a modern, efficient, and transparent legislative process,” said Speaker Melissa Hortman. “House DFLers have led the way in implementing reforms and are committed to improving public engagement in the legislative process.”

“The House DFL has consistently looked for ways to make our state budget process more open and transparent, which is why we established this committee,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “Minnesotans regularly lead the nation in civic engagement – it’s clear that they want and deserve the opportunity to provide meaningful input as new laws are considered.”

“Having recently completed our 17th special session in the last 21 years, we can see that work needs to be done to improve the legislative process,” said Rep. Gene Pelowski (DFL-Winona), Chair of the House Subcommittee on Legislative Process Reform. “I look forward to our efforts to meaningfully address reforms that would allow the legislature to meet its Constitutional responsibility of completing the legislative session on time with a balanced budget.”

In future meetings, committee members and stakeholders will continue to discuss challenges and possible opportunities to making the process of creating a state budget more open and efficient.

Statement from Majority Leader Ryan Winkler on Opioid Bill Taking Effect

House DFL logoSAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – A new law to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable and create a comprehensive response to the opioid epidemic takes effect today. House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler released the following statement:

“Thanks to the bravery of families impacted by the opioid crisis who spoke up and demanded a solution, today we’re holding big pharma accountable for the epidemic they created and profit from. This is a strong law that will protect Minnesotans, save lives, and tackle this crisis. Our next fight is on insulin. We need the same approach: forcing pharmaceutical companies to pay for the harm they are causing. Affordable prescription drugs will not come without a fight.”