Dear Neighbor,
The House and Senate have formed joint working groups for issues that have risen to the forefront of late: REAL ID, unemployment on the Iron Range, and economic disparities. They all met for the first time Thursday in St. Paul to take a closer look at each area. Productive discussions took place and legislators are doing their best to help with these situations.
There was a positive development today regarding REAL ID, which should put to rest any concerns people had over flight plans. Minnesota received word from the Department of Homeland Security that Jan. 22, 2018 is the earliest that REAL ID compliance would be necessary to board a domestic flight. States still may gain extensions after that, but all air travelers will be required to have a REAL ID-compliant license or acceptable form of ID starting Oct. 1, 2020.
Many questions remain on all three subjects of the working groups and due diligence needs to be conducted. There are numerous layers to each issue, especially when you consider one as broad as economic disparities.
The efforts the working groups are putting in now will allow the Legislature to hit the ground running when the 2016 session starts March 8. The bottom line is that we want to do the right thing in each of these three areas and that involves a thorough process.
Stay tuned and I will pass along more information as things develop. Until then, stay warm this weekend and let's hope for a Vikings win.
Sincerely,
Paul