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State Representative Jeanne Poppe
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4193
For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877
NEWS COLUMN
AUSTIN RESIDENTS ATTEND “SPAM” DAY AT THE CAPITOL
Throughout this week, members of the House are spending long hours on the floor debating and voting on several omnibus bills, large bills that include funding and policy provisions for major areas such as education, health care, agriculture and veterans and taxes.
The first to pass was the Omnibus Public Safety Policy bill, which puts in place provisions designed to protect children from predators, ease mandates on state agencies during these tough economic times, and provide assistance to local agencies during emergencies.
Specifically, this bill expands the crime of soliciting children to include all forms of electronic communication and forbids predatory offenders from accessing social networking Web sites such as Facebook and My Space. There are other provisions for sentencing guidelines, emergency communications and criminal records maintenance and eligibility standards for a defendant to qualify for a public defender.
The remaining omnibus bills will be passed throughout this week; I’ll provide updates on those bills in next week’s column.
Today, I was fortunate to be asked to speak at a presentation at the Humphrey Center titled: The Economic Crisis: What’s Happening to Workers and What to do about it? I was joined on the panel by Ann Markusen, professor of regional economics at the Humphrey Institute, Steve Hine, labor market information director at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, and Matt Kane, policy fellow for infrastructure and economic development at the progressive think tank, Growth and Justice.
The forum was held to talk about the economic distress caused by the fast-rising unemployment in Minnesota, especially for those with low-level skills. Over the past year as of March, Minnesota lost 98,100 jobs – the largest numeric job loss in post WWII history. In all, the total number of unemployed people in our state is almost 243,000. And, even though we are beginning to see signs that the recession may be lessening, job losses are expected to continue for almost another year.
I spoke at the forum about the need to allow higher education to be more affordable so more young people can get the necessary skills to enter the workforce. As a parent of three college students, I am concerned about leaving a generation of young adults behind if they cannot afford higher education. The high cost also means many students are leaving college with significant debt, making it much more difficult for them to buy homes and make the other investments in our communities that help boost our economy.
It was rewarding to participate in the forum, to listen to experts in the field of employment, and to share with those in attendance the efforts we are making at the state legislature to both retain and create jobs for Minnesotans.
Lastly, this Tuesday was SPAM Day at the Capitol (Special People from Austin, MN). Approximately 50 people joined Senator Dan Sparks and me for a tour of the Capitol, and to hear Miss Minnesota Angela McDermott, a resident of Austin who is both the former Miss Austin and Miss Twin Cities, sing the Star Spangled Banner on the House floor. And, of course, members of the House of Representatives were treated to SPAM – an annual treat! I want to thank everyone who made the trip from Austin for another fun SPAM Day.
As always, please continue to contact me with your questions and suggestions. I can be reached at 100 Martin Luther King Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155 or via e-mail at rep.jeanne.poppe@house.mn.
News Items
- POPPE SELECTED AS AGRICULTURE POLICY COMMITTEE CHAIR - (Posted: 2012-11-16 00:00:00)
- Rep. Jeanne Poppe Encourages High School Juniors to Apply for Minnesota House of Representatives Page Program - Application Deadline is November 19th - (Posted: 2012-11-12 00:00:00)
- HORMEL INSTITUTE EXPANSION SIGNED INTO LAW - 2012 legislative session adjourns sine die - (Posted: 2012-05-11 00:00:00)
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