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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Kelly Fenton (R)

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Legislative Update

Friday, May 19, 2017

 

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

As we continue to work toward a final budget agreement with the governor, I thought I would share some other news happening at the Capitol this week.

Real ID Signed into Law

This week, the Legislature passed bipartisan legislation so Minnesota can comply with federal Real ID mandates, ensuring your state-issued driver’s license can continue to be used to board an airplane, enter a federal facility and visit a military base. Governor Dayton signed the measure into law.

This was an important priority for people across the state, and many constituents from Woodbury called me in support of Real ID compliance. The bill allows people to opt-in, meaning they can choose Real ID-compliant identification, or identification under the current system we have in place. I am pleased we got this done so that Minnesotans can rest assured that their state-issued identification will continue to be valid across the country.

Teacher Licensure Vetoed

While I am pleased Governor Dayton signed Real ID into law, I am disappointed that he chose to align with special interests and veto a bipartisan teacher licensure reform bill this week. The legislation, which was crafted with input and support from education stakeholders throughout the state, overhauled our broken teacher licensure system. The bill focused on streamlining the process, increasing transparency, addressing our state’s teacher shortage and ensuring that great educators can teach in our classrooms.

This was a commonsense bill that was debated, altered and improved over a long-period of time as we worked to address this critical education need in our state. I will continue to advocate for our students, educators and schools, supporting legislation that puts good policy first.

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As always, if you have ideas about what you would like to see happen this session or need assistance on a matter of state government, I welcome you to contact me. Please don’t hesitate to call (651-296-1147), email (rep.kelly.fenton@house.mn) or stop by my office.

Sincerely,

Kelly

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