Friends,
My heart goes out to those dealing with the tragic school shooting in Florida. It truly is an incomprehensible and heartbreaking situation.
Here in Minnesota, we have taken steps to keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them, including passing a bill in 2014 to prevent domestic abusers from having access to firearms. While I believe we must not infringe on the constitutionally protected Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens, I voted for this bill because there are cases when an individual who is truly a threat to himself or others should not possess a gun.
I believe we need to address the root problems in these devastating situations, particularly mental health, and provide training and resources to prevent these tragedies from happening in the future.
Just last year we passed funding for the Minnesota School Safety Center, which conducts 200 training sessions around the state each year and provides recommendations for school safety assessments, threat assessments that can help identify red flags and behavioral clues, intruder responses, and access controls to better secure our schools.
In addition, we have funded school-linked mental health grants which go to expanding services to schools, school districts, or counties to provide training on evidence-based practices to improve mental health and address mental health challenges.
My colleagues and I will work hard in the coming 2018 Session to build on these efforts to keep Minnesotans - especially our children - safe.
Senate District 57 Legislative Listening Session
This Saturday, February 17th, is the Senate District 57 Legislative Listening Session I will be participating in with Senator Greg Clausen and Rep. Erin Maye Quade. It will be at Falcon Ridge Middle School from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. This is a great opportunity to share YOUR priorities and feedback with all of us. RSVP on Facebook here. I hope you can make it!
Bonding
The second year of a biennium is typically considered a “bonding year” at the Capitol, and legislators often pass a capital investment package, or bonding bill, that allocates money to a variety of projects statewide. Governor Dayton is currently proposing a $1.5 billion bonding bill—$600 million more than what was planned for in the November budget forecast and far larger than what I expect House Republicans will support.
As we consider a bonding bill this year, expect any bill to come out of the House to focus heavily on infrastructure and transportation needs. I am hopeful that my bonding bill for the Minnesota Zoo would also be included. The February economic forecast, which is due at the end of the month, will also help determine the fiscal impact and feasibility of any bonding bill passed this session.
You can see Governor Dayton's bonding request in full here.
Interview with House Information
In January, I sat down with the nonpartisan House Information Services to talk about my experience at the legislature as a working mom of three. It was a fun interview! Click here to watch.
Rosemount Band Plays at Super Bowl
A belated congratulations to the Rosemount High School Marching Band for being a part of the Super Bowl festivities recently. See a video they posted preparing for their big day. Congrats again!
The Rosemount High School Marching Band takes part in the Super Bowl festivities.
Interim Appointments
If you would like to meet with me to ask any questions or discuss a particular issue, my meetings will be held in-district during these final days before the 2018 Session starts on February 20th. Simply use the same contact information for my office below, and we will find a time and place to meet in our community, or we can meet at my office in St. Paul as well.
As always, please don't hesitate to contact me with your comments, questions, and concerns. Email me anytime at rep.anna.wills@house.mn or call 651-296-4306. Stay up to date with what I am up to at the legislature and around our community by following my updates on Facebook at www.facebook.com/repannawills.
Have a great weekend, I hope to see you tomorrow!
Sincerely,
Anna Wills
State Representative, District 57B