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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Tama Theis (R)

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Capitol Update from Rep. Tama Theis

Friday, March 23, 2018

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Talking about St. Cloud native and gold medal winner “Monster Mike” Schultz on the House Floor. Way to make your community and nation proud!

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Testifying in committee this week

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With Jen and Holly from St. Cloud who came down for Minnesota Bankers' Association Day at the Capitol

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With folks from a Smoke Free Generation who visited the Capitol on Thursday

 

Dear Neighbors,

Here is an update from Saint Paul.

School Counselor Bill

As we work to address student and school safety this session, one key component is mental health. Access to support services in our schools including counselors, psychologists, social workers and chemical dependency counselors makes a real difference and leads to better outcomes for many kids.

Last biennium, the Legislature appropriated $12 million for the Support our Students Grant Program that provided funding for more schools across the state to hire more counselors and other mental health professionals. I am carrying bipartisan legislation, heard this week in the House Education Committee, which would expand that program and appropriate an additional $26 million for the program, as well as ensure ongoing funding in future years.

I think this is an important bill that will help expand grant funding to more schools so they can hire more counselors and other support staff, ultimately helping reach more kids in need.

MNLARS

For folks who have had trouble with our broken licensing system MNLARS, I have another update. This week the Legislature passed a bill that will provide the first requested funding for fixes, while putting a number of critical oversight measures in place.

Taxpayers have already spent nearly $100 million on the program, and they should be rightly outraged by the failures of the Dayton Administration to get this done. We are implementing needed reforms to ensure better oversight of tax dollars as we move forward.

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It’s an honor to be your voice at the Capitol. Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Tama