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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Julie Sandstede (DFL)

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Legislative Update - April 12, 2018

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Dear Neighbors,

There are just about six weeks remaining in the legislative session, and there is a great deal of work left to finish before the session adjourns in May. As we look toward these important issues affecting Minnesotans’ lives, I think about these letters I received recently from members of Girl Scout Troop 1117.

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I was impressed by the level of thoughtfulness from these children. They all had a firm grasp of many of our shared values, like making sure everyone has access to things like good schools, the ability to go to the doctor, clean air to breathe and water to drink, access to food, and a place to call home. Overall, they want to ensure Minnesotans continue to take care of one another. These six-year-olds get it; I hope legislators can as well!

Protecting Pre-Kindergarten

I recently had the opportunity to join Governor Dayton at a press conference where he pushed for critical investments in our youngest learners to be extended. Last year, the Governor and Legislature came together to provide $50 million toward quality, school-based preK. Unfortunately, this funding is set to expire after next school year, meaning 59 school districts and charter schools could lose the resources to provide preK education to 4,000 Minnesota four-year-olds.

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In our region, this could mean preK opportunities might disappear for 100 kids and families. We’ve made significant progress to create opportunities for our youngest learners, and as a teacher, I’ve seen the direct impact this has on their success. I hope we can come together to make these key investments permanent.

Meetings with Superintendents

Last week, the Legislature had the annual recess in observation of Easter and Passover. This provided an opportunity to meet with folks in the district and I was pleased to visit with all of our area school district superintendents. I got to hear about a variety of their efforts while also listening to their needs and how we can assist with them. For instance, Nashwauk-Keewatin is working to collaborate on space sharing with local cities to deliver education and public services in the same buildings.

School safety remains a priority for districts, as they are looking to the legislature for funding help to make physical security upgrades, but also provide more services for students. Mental health needs in particular must be addressed and in his budget proposal, Gov. Dayton has included grants toward greater support for these.

Special education costs also continue to rise for school districts. The amount districts are responsible for that isn’t picked up by the state or federal government – called the cross-subsidy – can provide districts with significant budget challenges. I hope we can deliver greater investments this session and examine ways we can change funding formulas to better serve all of our kids.

Hill Annex Mine State Park

Today I presented a bill to the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee to keep Hill Annex Mine State Park open while a concept plan and feasibility study can be developed to transition the park from state to local management. The Minnesota DNR has identified sustainability concerns about the park and has indicated a desire to close it. I want to thank Itasca County Commissioner Ben DeNucci for making the trip down and joining me to present this bill, sharing how much we value the park.

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Folks in our region have worked extremely hard to come up with a solution that preserves this park, which has great educational, historical, cultural and scientific value. Some people visit the park to learn about our rich mining traditions, while others visit to explore the fossils and other geological features. This is all worth protecting, and we should promote and raise awareness of this park’s unique, one of a kind features.

The bill allocates $150,000 for a local partnership, perhaps a joint-powers agreement or non-profit, to define project goals, identify funding mechanisms, and implement necessary ongoing operational support. Park management would then transition from the DNR to the new local partnership. The bill was “laid over” for possible inclusion in a future environment and natural resources budget bill.

Investing in Infrastructure

One major item on our to-do list is a bonding bill to invest in our public infrastructure. Minnesota’s public higher education facilities, bridges, dams, affordable housing, and other public assets are all in need of maintenance, renovations, or replacement. Prior to session, Governor Dayton unveiled his bold, $1.5 billion bonding proposal. I’m particularly pleased the Governor’s proposal includes significant investments in our state’s clean water infrastructure, much of which is well beyond its useful life and could put Minnesotans’ health at risk if not addressed. Unfortunately, with our time left in session winding down, we’ve yet to see a proposal from the House or Senate majorities.

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Earlier this week, our state’s building trades workers came to the Capitol urging their support for robust infrastructure funding, including a bonding bill, as this would create many good paying jobs across the state. I hope to see more movement on this bill soon so we can deliver these investments, and get these men and women out working on projects throughout Minnesota.

Employee Contracts

After a long delay, labor contracts have finally been ratified for approximately 30,000 state workers. These contracts were negotiated fairly between the public unions and the executive branch last year. Unfortunately, they were held up by partisan politics. No family should ever have their economic security threatened in such a way. The people who plow our roads, monitor health emergencies, inspect bridges, keep our water clean, and respond when our state is in crisis all deserve fair pay and benefits. While this took entirely too long, I’m glad we were able to get this done. In the future though, I’d hope these folks aren’t used as political bargaining chips.

Ending Student Debt

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Today I got to meet with a group of educators concerned about student debt. As we know, the cost of a degree continues to rise, becoming out of reach for many. As this cost rises, so do the mountains of debt young people and their families face. There is more we can do to alleviate this burden which is holding an entire generation back form fully participating in our economy. Looking ahead, I hope we can keep college tuition in check, while offering access to other solutions, such as student loan refinancing.

Please continue to reach out with your ideas, feedback, and questions, or if I can ever be of assistance. Just this week, staff and I were able to assist a constituent with an urgent matter involving their health insurance coverage. The opportunity to help people is an extremely rewarding part of my job at the State Capitol, so if I can ever help, don’t hesitate to call upon me.

Sincerely,

Julie Sandstede

State Representative