Friends,
It was another busy week at the Capitol as our first deadline for bills to be heard was this week. Dozens of bills were heard daily and I presented a number of the key bills I have authored this session to a number of committees. I have highlighted two of them below. Have a great weekend!
School Safety Audits
On Wednesday, my proposal to provide state reimbursement for schools who complete security audits was heard in the Education Finance Committee. The grant program will be established and operated by the Department of Public Safety.
Everyone recognizes we must do more to protect our students. The state government funding security audits will allow schools to know what vulnerabilities there are and what upgrades can be made to properly protect students. This is a concrete step we can take today to make our children safer.
The Commissioner of Public Safety will establish the eligibility and criteria for the audits and the audit must be done by a consultant with a professional certification. Schools will be allowed to have the security assessments done through private contracts who maintain security assessment credentials, or any other entity the commissioner of public safety deems appropriate.
Some schools have done similar security assessments already, but many schools are on tight budgets and cannot afford to do these important security audits to assess threats. These audits will give schools the information they need to identify improvements and better protect students.
The Senate version, SF 3068, is authored by Senator Carrie Ruud. House File 3885 was referred to the Public Safety Committee.
Savage Health Crisis Center
On Thursday, my bill to establish a regional crisis center in Savage was heard in the Health & Human Services Committee. House File 3004 will issue bonds up to $1.4 million an amount that will be matched by Scott County for this project.
Our country, our state, and our communities are facing a mental health crisis. We need to make sure communities across the state have the resources to deal with this growing epidemic. This project is planned and ready to break ground. We should move forward, fund this facility, and make sure the residents of Savage and surrounding communities have access to this important resource.
The Scott County facility, to be built in Savage, will house sixteen beds for intensive residential and treatment services. The new facility will provide stabilization and treatment for persons with a primary or secondary mental health diagnosis in lieu of inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. The facility will be a regional resource for patients for stays up to 90 days in length.
Savage Mayor Janet Williams and Pam Selvig, Health and Human Services Director for Scott County, were among those testifying in support of this facility.
We need to take this issue seriously and I hope we are able to make this center a reality. I will continue to work to make sure the funding is included in the bonding bill and this worthwhile project moves forward.
As always, please continue to stay in touch to share your thoughts and ideas. You can schedule a time to meet with me in my office anytime by calling my office at (651) 296-9463 or share your thoughts via email by emailing me at rep.drew.christensen@house.mn.
Have a great weekend!
Drew