Friends,
The first half of the 2018 Session has come to a busy end. We now take a quick break to celebrate the Passover & Easter Holidays before getting back to work on Monday, April 9th. I hope you are able to spend the time with your family and have a great weekend!
Faith & Politics
I was honored to be invited to the University of Minnesota Law School to be a part of their Faith & Politics event. We had a great discussion on how faith influences politics, public policy, and the laws themselves. My faith has always played an important role in my life, career, and as a legislator.
Rep. Smith at the University of Minnesota Law School forum on Faith & Politics.
Committee Happenings
- Claims Committee - This bicameral committee serves as a de facto appeals court for financial issues involving financial claims against the state of Minnesota. We met this week to do our important work.
- HF 3693 - This bill creates liability and vicarious liability for trespassers to critical infrastructure. This is an effort to deter protestors from encouraging and training of others to engage in the protests that damage critical infrastructure (pipelines, utilities for electrical and power sources, telecommunications facilities, water treatment plants, etc.). This bill now states that anyone who recruits, trains, aids, advises, hires, counsels, or conspires with anyone else to trespass or cause damage to the property, may be held vicariously liable. It is not the intent of this bill to inhibit first amendment rights nor free speech but to protect those items listed as critical infrastructure.
This important bill passed the Public Safety Committee this week and next is headed to the House Floor!
- HF 1609 - This bill modernizes Minnesota's laws with regards to Notaries. Bringing Minnesota's notary laws in line with international standards. It will introduce a web-based notary system to Minnesota. This will allow a Minnesota notary to serve as a notary for international transactions, an increasingly important factor. It passed the Commerce Committee this week and hoping for it to pass State Government Finance tonight!
School Safety Package
On Thursday, we unveiled a legislative package aimed at putting student safety first. We have taken a multifaceted approach that includes more resources to meet the needs of students and schools statewide which includes everything from hiring more school resource officers, student counselors and mental health professionals to making critical building security upgrades.
We have listened to school officials, teachers, students, and parents in our local communities to bring forward this multi-faceted approach to making our students safer. As a co-author on many of these bills to make our schools safe, I am proud of the work we have put forward and will continue to insist we put our student's safety first.
The following solutions, authored by numerous House members, are currently advancing through the public committee process:
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School resource officers, student support personnel, and other school security programs funded through increased Safe Schools revenue, including a floor level of funding for small schools.
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School building security upgrades, and expanded use of Long-Term Facility Maintenance revenue for security projects, including emergency communications systems.
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School-linked mental health programming to ensure better outcomes for all kids.
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Physical security audit grants to provide state assistance to review facility security and crisis management policies.
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Suicide prevention training for teachers to help educators learn how to engage and assist students experiencing mental distress.
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School-based threat assessment teams established to assess, intervene, and report threats facing students, teachers, and staff.
March Town Hall
On Saturday, March 31st, from 9-10am I will be holding my monthly town hall at the Maple Grove Community Center. Hope you can make it!
Rep. Smith met with two high school students from his district in his office at the Capitol.
Please continue to share your thoughts with me about our state government; bill ideas and concerns are welcomed! I am honored to serve you at the Capitol. If you are going to be at or around the Capitol, please stop by or schedule a meeting. My email address is Rep.Dennis.Smith@house.mn, phone number 651-296-5502, and by mail: 375 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.
Happy Passover & Easter!
Dennis