Dear Neighbors,
The Legislature must adjourn on Monday, May 21st, leaving us with less than two weeks to wrap up significantly large bills. The Republican House and Senate majorities have both passed their supplemental budget bills and tax bills, and are in the process of releasing their public infrastructure bills. House and Senate conference committees have started meeting to reconcile differences within the bill versions. After passing the final bills or conference committee reports after this process, the legislation goes to the Governor’s desk for consideration.
Governor Dayton has repeatedly urged legislative leaders to work with him on finding common ground on significant issues facing our state. They have yet to find solutions for adequate school funding, finding solutions for state’s opioid crisis, protecting seniors from abuse, making our schools safer and ending senseless gun violence, shoring up state pensions, fixing public infrastructure, and protecting Minnesotans from tax increases. In fact, the Dayton Administration has sent legislative leaders 270 pages of input and concerns about legislation being considered without much of a response.
I’m hopeful we can work something out in these final two weeks. For my part, I’ll continue to work on finding a consensus for our community and state.
REAL ID Update
News came this week from Department of Homeland Security on REAL ID compliance. The federal government has said Minnesotans will be able to use standard driver’s licenses or identification cards for domestic air travel or access to federal facilities until 2020. Minnesota is on track to start issuing compliant licenses by October 1, 2018, even though the federal government won’t require them to be REAL ID-compliant until two years later on Oct. 1, 2020.
National Teacher Appreciation Week
As we recognize National Teacher Appreciation Week, we reflect on the positive impact our teachers have had on us and our kids. As lawmakers, we can show gratitude by providing educators with the resources needed to do the very best for our kids. With so many schools facing budget deficits, we don’t want to make their jobs harder by threatening layoffs, program cuts, and even larger class sizes. The Governor’s Emergency Aid proposal is a solid solution for protecting our schools, teachers and students.
Please keep in touch and reach out anytime with questions or feedback. I appreciate your input.
Sincerely,
Paul