Dear Neighbors,
End of Session
We have just three days left in session, and legislative leaders and the governor are negotiating various budget proposals following the governor’s veto of all the budget bills passed earlier. I’m among those who are optimistic we’ll finish our work on Monday. My goal from day one has been to help deliver a responsible budget that helps folks in our area and around the state.
Honoring our Police Officers
Yesterday was an important day as we recognized Police Week. The Minnesota State Trooper Color Guard joined us in the House chamber to take part in this occasion. We owe so much to our men and women who work in public safety; thank you!
Real ID Signed into Law
While budget negotiations are getting most of our attention, the legislature continues to meet and pass smaller, non-budget bills. This week we passed Real ID. This is a bill that has had hearings and ongoing negotiations at the Capitol over the last couple years and so it felt good to see the House and Senate finally pass this legislation. The bill - which was also signed by the governor - makes our state compliant with the federal Real ID Act. We needed to pass this legislation to ensure Minnesotans could use their IDs to board commercial aircraft after the 2018 deadline for states to become compliant. Now, our residents can have the peace-of-mind to travel with their state-issued ID card.
Radio!
This week, I spoke with Heidi Holtan of KAXE/KBXE about where we’re at in the session. One of the main topics of conversation was my effort to reform the governance of the IRRRB. There’s been some misinformation on this topic, and I want to make sure folks in our area know the full story. If you want to listen to the entire interview, please click here. With things moving quickly in St. Paul, some parts of the interview are already a bit out of date, but it still gives a good recap of what I’m working on regarding the IRRRB.
I want to give a shout out as well to Kathy Lynn of KOZY/KMFY/J105 Radio for allowing me to update listeners weekly throughout the session.
When I’ve been in St. Paul, I have enjoyed staying in touch with you through regular communications so that you are informed about what is happening at the Capitol. Whether that be through email updates, via social media, or interviews in the news, it’s important for me to stay connected and I have heard from many of you that you appreciate the short updates.
Leading into the Final Weekend
We’re in the final couple days of session, so please call or email if you have questions on what we’re discussing. It will be a busy sprint to the finish, and I’ll be sure to keep you updated as the dominoes start to fall.
Enjoy your weekend,
Sandy