Minnesota House of Representatives

Accessibility menu

Menu

Minnesota House of Representatives

State Representative Chris Swedzinski

251 State Office BuildingState Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5374

For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520

Posted: 2012-04-05 00:00:00
Share on: 



LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

News from Representative Swedzinski

The Game and Fish bill passed the House this week. There are many items included in this bill. A few highlights include moving the fishing opener this year a week earlier to May 5th so that it does not coincide with the Mother’s Day holiday. This bill also provides for a wolf hunting season. Up to 400 wolves could be taken and the season would start the same day as deer hunting season this fall. The bill also contains a number of technical provisions regarding beaver dams, hunting a fishing license fees to be paid electronically and wolf hunting fees.

Tuesday night was a late session where we discussed the Voter ID Amendment and it did eventually pass the House. According to the bill the question on the ballot in November would be: Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to require all voters to present valid photo identification on Election Day and that the state provide free identification to eligible voters?

Jacobs Law was also passed and signed by the Governor this week. Jacobs Law was introduced in response to a young boy named Jacob who was abused outside of the home during a visit to his father’s house in Cottonwood. Jacob’s parents were divorced and his father lived in Cottonwood and his mother lived in the Clara City area. When the abuse was reported only the father was notified. Jacob’s mother was not notified until four years later when Jacob himself told his mother of the abuse.

This law says that law enforcement must notify both the father and the mother when cases of abuse outside the home are reported. The bill also requires law enforcement to notify social services if the abuse occurs outside the home. This requirement already exists when the abuse occurs within the home.
It also creates two new rights for parties in a custody order – First the right to access police reports about the child and second the right to know if the child is the victim of a crime (unless the party is the perpetrator).

I believe this law will help families in the future avoid situations like Jacob’s.

Last night we passed the Legacy bill off of the House floor. A provision I have in the bill directs the DNR to open up 50,000 acres of state owned lands to grazing for the improvement of wild life habitat. This will help improve our rural economy in wild life and agriculture.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact my office at 651-296-5374 or email me at rep.chris.swedzinski@house.mn

Have a very blessed and happy Easter,

Chris

News Items

Audio & Video

Galleries

No image galleries found

Minnesota House of Representatives  ·   100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Saint Paul, MN   55155   ·   Webmaster@house.mn