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State Representative Joyce Peppin
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-7806
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
NEWS COLUMN
Redistricting and Child Care Accreditation Expansion
Dear Neighbors,
In this update:
1. Redistricting
2. Child Care Accreditation Expansion
3. Community Notification of Sex Offender Residences
1. Redistricting
On Tuesday a court panel issued maps with new political boundaries for the state’s eight congressional districts and 201 legislative districts. Minnesota’s constitution requires ‘redistricting’ to take place every decade to equalize population among legislative districts.
It is the goal of redistricting that each Minnesota House district contain approximately 39,700. Our district, 32A, needed to lose nearly 19,000 residents to reach this 39,700 threshold. Some districts like ours changed substantially and others remained much the same.
House District 32A experienced some major adjustments under this plan, including a different name: District 34A.
The current district I am honored to represent includes Rogers, Maple Grove, Corcoran, Dayton, Greenfield, Hassan, and Hanover. Under the new plan, the district will lose its southwest corner to equalize population. This means the district will lose the cities of Greenfield, Hanover, and Corcoran to neighboring districts.
The modifications made to District 32A will not go into effect until January 2013, and it is my privilege to serve the priorities and interests of the people of District 32A without distraction from the newly redistricted area. I was elected to serve my district until the end of my current term, and will continue to do so.
The official Redistricting Plan website includes congressional and legislative district maps. To access an interactive, side-by-side view of new and existing maps, click here.
2. Child Care Accreditation Expansion
I presented House File 2097 this week to the Health and Human Services Finance Committee to allow low-income parents more choice in selecting pre-school/early learning programs for their kids. Current state statute severely limits the choice parents who receive a state child care subsidy have in selecting early learning centers for their young children. That is because it only allows them to receive the subsidy if they send their kids to a facility that has been accredited by one of a small number of accrediting organizations specifically and arbitrarily named in statute.
There are many high quality accrediting agencies, but this law makes early learning centers that chose to be accredited by an unnamed accrediting organization unattainable for low-income families. This legislation would allow for approval of additional accrediting agencies.
Accrediting agencies determine if early learning centers meet safety, educational, and other standards, and the state permits different models of accrediting agencies to market their services to different types of early learning centers, provided core safety and educational standards are met.
This legislation was originally brought to me by Joe Piket, who owns Primrose School in Maple Grove. Primrose is an outstanding early learning center that does an excellent job educating the children under their care. Primrose is accredited by AdvancED, a high quality and well regarded early learning and K-12 education accrediting organization which, like other high quality accreditors, is at a disadvantage in our state, not due to their merit or standards, but based on the current statute.
The intent of changing this statute is to move away from the Legislature hand-picking specific organizations and to move toward a merit-based system that would judge organizations based on equal standards.
The bill is being held over for possible inclusion in the omnibus health bill.
3. Community Notification of Sex Offender Residences
Both chambers of the Legislature passed emergency legislation this week that authorizes community notification prior to a sex offender’s provisional (with restrictions) discharge from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) to a halfway house.
On Thursday, Governor Dayton signed the bill into law.
This legislation was drafted in response to a loophole that once prevented local law enforcement from conducting community notification in the event that a sex offender is provisionally discharged from the MSOP.
We were recently made aware of the loophole during a hearing regarding the release of Clarence Opheim, who has been civilly committed in the MSOP for the last two decades. Opheim is responsible for approximately 100 sexual assaults against 29 young boys. He is expected to enter a halfway house in Golden Valley within the coming weeks.
I am pleased Governor Dayton signed this common sense, bi-partisan public safety bill. An informed public is better enabled to make public safety decisions about the health and welfare of their children if they are made aware of who might move into their neighborhood.
Have a great weekend,
Joyce
News Items
- PEPPIN REPORT: FORECAST SHOWS THIRD CONSECUTIVE STATE SURPLUS - (Posted: 2012-12-06 00:00:00)
- A Look Ahead to the 2012 Legislative Session - (Posted: 2012-01-26 00:00:00)
- A Call to Caucus - (Posted: 2012-02-04 00:00:00)
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