Honored to have Presided over the Senate During Floor Session
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
We are in the last few days of session now. Negotiations are still ongoing over the final budget for the next two years. The leadership in the House, Senate and the Governor have been meeting regularly to create a budget that works for all Minnesota.
While their talks continue we have moved some important legislation this week that I’ll summarize below. I’ll be at the Capitol all weekend serving you so keep an eye on the news and I will keep you posted as I can.
It is now ten days before the constitutional end of session, May 20th. Conference committees have been meeting all week with little to no progress. This is due in large part to a lack of agreed upon budget targets between the House, Senate and Governor. The goal is to have those targets agreed upon by Monday May 13th.
The Senate passed the 2019 Jobs, Energy, Commerce, Health and Human Services, Taxes, Transportation, and E12 bills this week. With their passage, all major budget bills have passed off both the House and Senate floors and are heading for conference committees.
Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman, and Governor Tim Walz agreed to provide conference committees with fiscal targets on May 6. Once the budget targets are established, negotiations between the different budget bills can begin to create a final product.
We are entering the final stretch of the process to determine what policies will shape our state and how we will fund it. In this Newsletter you will see some highlights of the Omnibus bills that were passed this week, as well as a few important events of note. Continue reading “Sen. John Hoffman (SD36) Update: May 3, 2019”
Sen. Jim Abeler, Sen. Jerry Newton and Sen. John Hoffman are pictured from left to right with Sen. Foung Hawj, Captain Xai Nou Paul Vang and Lieutenant Charles Vu after receiving their medals of honor in appreciation to their support of the Hmong community.
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Sen. John Hoffman (DFL-Champlin), Sen. Jerry Newton (DFL-Coon Rapids), and Sen. Jim Abeler (R-Anoka) received the One Star Leadership Medals of appreciation from the Hmong Special Guerilla Unit and its late leader General Vang Pao.
The Hmong Special Guerilla Unit is credited with saving hundreds of American soldiers and pilots in Laos during the Vietnam War, at great cost of life in their Hmong community.
The medal, designed by the late General Vang Pao, was given to the legislators to honor the three Senators for their long-term relationship with the Hmong community. They lent bipartisan support in designating May 14 as the special recognition day for the Hmong Veterans of the Secret War in Laos. The path to this recognition has been very difficult.
“It is a great honor to receive this very important medal of honor from Hmong Special Gorilla Unit. They were instrumental in preventing the threat of communism from spreading deeper in Southeast Asia,” Sen. Hoffman said.
“Many soldiers owe these brave men and women their lives,” said Sen. Newton. “I am among those who owe them an eternal debt.”
“The selfless sacrifice by these brave men and women on behalf of American soldiers is truly impressive,” said Sen. Abeler. “As the Hmong have no home country, it is particularly valuable that we can honor them in this special way.”
Our omnibus bills are going through the final stretch of the process. As they are being passed from the floor they will go into conference committee, before returning to the floor for approval. I’d like to share some of my work that has made it this far in the process:
One of my bills to make it this far is the Parent to Parent grant. The bill appropriates $257,000 in funding for grants to support parent-to-parent programs for families of children with disabilities, chronic illnesses, and health-related educational or behavioral problems. Parents who participate in the program would be connected with other parents who have a child with similar needs or circumstances, information from special training, or simply emotional support. Personal support from another parent who has a child with similar needs can be helpful in coping with these challenging experiences and feelings. Continue reading “Sen. John Hoffman (SD36) Update: April 26, 2019”
The Legislature’s annual Easter/Passover break is upon us, giving legislators a chance to catch their breath after the last few weeks of intense deadlines. While I’m spending my break catching up on my work outside the legislature as well as spending time with family, I’m hoping everyone else is getting the chance to get outside and into the sunshine.
I will also be contemplating the coming last few weeks of the legislative session. We have had contentious issues arise this session as well as those that share bipartisan support. All of the budgets are out from the House, Senate and Governor. The stage is set for the last month of session.
Now we have to come together to make the final decisions on what our final budget will be as well as what policies will shape our state in the years to come. So as we all take our reprieve with family and friends I ask that you reach out and share your thoughts and feelings on the different legislation as we move forward. I’m going to do my best to share what bills are coming to the floor as soon as I know about them. I’ll be sharing them on Facebook and reviewing actions taken during my normal weekly newsletter.
So enjoy the holidays with your family and keep an eye out for more information next week.
We have reached the Legislative Recess. Committees have finished their session work and Omnibus bills will be heading towards the floor or conference committees in a little over a weeks time. After a long fourteen weeks, we have an idea of what bills are in motion and we know the budgets from the House, Senate and Governor. Make sure you keep in contact with me for updates on this session process. Mean while enjoy this lengthy ENews on Bills that are moving this session.
I’d like to let you know how some of the bills I’ve been working on are doing that are currently moving forward in the health and humans services omnibus bill.
One is my $257,000 in funding for Parent-to-Parent grants. This funding will support an organization that organizes and trains parents who care for children with disabilities into a peer support network. These parents are ready to share their experiences with those seeking help to take care of their children medically as well as emotional support throughout the process. Continue reading “Sen. John Hoffman (SD36) Update: April 12, 2019”
We are nearly through all of our bill deadlines. Next week will be the final week for bills to pass through their finance committees and head to the floor. As bills are being heard in committee we also had others pass onto the Senate Floor.
We addressed some important issues on the Senate Floor and there will be more to come. With the House, Senate and Governor’s budget all released now real negotiations can begin on how and where we invest in Minnesota.
As those discussions begin I want to encourage us all to be civil. There are many toxic statements made on various sides of issues and those tend to end a conversation before it begins. Without discourse we cannot understand each other and without that understanding, parts of what is important is lost. Continue reading “Sen. John Hoffman (SD36) Update: April 5, 2019”
I wanted to share with one of my bills I presented in Tax committee today. The Mississippi Crossings is a redevelopment district created under general Tax Increment Finance (TIF) law. A TIF district is a specific property or set of properties that can be leveraged by giving a great deal to developers, who then build and increase the value of the property. The city then benefits from the increased tax gain from the greater value of the property. These districts typically have a time limit where they can capture the greatest returns in value increases.
The Mississippi Crossings was designated a TIF district in 2014 and given a five year time limit. However, Champlin has yet to receive any Tax Increment Revenues from the Mississippi Crossings. All the development was halted as the land was used as a staging ground by MnDOT while renovating Highway 169 from 2016 to 2018. This bill allows Champlin to truly utilize the permissions granted prior to develop the land and generate revenues to compensate for their initial up front investment of purchasing the properties to develop. Once that option is fully available the process of developing and increasing access to the Mississippi River can begin. As it stands the city of Champlin expects the first receipt of tax increment to be collected in 2019. Continue reading “Sen. John Hoffman (SD36) Update: April 2, 2019”
Spring is here and next week will be the last before second deadlines for bills. I will have at least five being heard next week and more may be added. Below you’ll find the current list of my bills.
There are two important things I want to bring before your eyes that happened this week. First, Thursday was World Down Syndrome Day. We celebrated all of our wonderful people who live, laugh and thrive no matter their chromosome count.
Second, I feel we displayed unity across several fronts. There was a tragedy in New Zealand that affected people of all races and religions. It is in times like that we must come together and we did come together to mourn the lives that will be missed after a horrible act was committed. Continue reading “Sen. John Hoffman (SD36) Update: March 22, 2019”
