Dear Friends,
This week, conference committee negotiations came to a close for most of our major budget bills and the bill drafts are being finalized. We hope to bring our budget bill agreements to the floor in short order, and that the Governor will lend his input soon. Here is a very brief update on these negotiations; more details will be made available shortly.
Final Bill Negotiations
We are still on-track with our accelerated time line for this session, and we should have no trouble completing our work well before session comes to an end. This is contingent, however, on Governor Dayton negotiating in good faith on these bills.
House leadership had hoped that Governor Dayton would work with the House and Senate to come to a budget target agreement by the end of last week, but thus far he has not participated substantively in these discussions. Because of this, House and Senate leadership decided to come to an initial agreement without the Governor so that conference committees could complete their work on schedule. Again, we remain on schedule and hope to see the Governor participate soon in debating these bills.
We hope to debate the budget bills agreed on with the Senate very soon on the House floor. Final details regarding these budget agreements will be available very shortly, and I will provide you more details in the coming weeks as we pass these bills through the House.
Minnesota Zoo Beastly Ball
This last weekend, the Minnesota Zoo held their 29th annual Beastly Ball. We are so lucky to have the Zoo in our community, and it was a pleasure to show support for the work they do! Here's an interesting article that was recently published in the Star Tribune about what's happening at the Zoo: http://www.startribune.com/moving-forward-minnesota-zoo-director-focusing-on-feasibility/416566063/
In case you missed it, here is a video we did when the Zoo visited the Capitol late last month: https://www.facebook.com/RepAnnaWills/videos/1257769677673168/
Keep in Touch
As always, please don't hesitate to contact me with your comments, questions, and concerns. Email me any time at rep.anna.wills@house.mn or call 651-296-4306. You can also follow my updates on Facebook at www.facebook.com/repannawills and Twitter at https://twitter.com/annacwills. If you plan to stop by and visit me at the Capitol, my office is 491 in the State Office Building.
Sincerely,
Anna Wills
State Representative, District 57B