Dear Friends,
It was great to have a week to spend with family for Easter/Passover break. I hope you were able to spend Easter with family or friends.
This week, legislators returned to Saint Paul for our six week sprint to the finish. In the final six weeks, we still have to pass our 2016-2017 budget, pass a long-term transportation plan, as well as a handful of other issues. The Governor delivered his annual State of the State address last night, where he discussed his priorities and goals for the remainder of session.
This week, we are continuing the process of putting together our omnibus policy and budget bills, large bills that contain dozens of smaller bills.
As Chair of the Health and Human Services Policy Committee, I'm responsible for helping to assemble our Health and Human Services Finance omnibus bill. Our bill is still in-progress, but is very likely to include reforms to MNsure and other ways we can help make health care more accessible and affordable. I will be sure to keep you posted once we finalize our bill, and will keep you up-to-date on the status of the other major policy and budget bills as they move forward.
Once all of our bills are passed, they will go to what are known as conference committees, where we will work with the Senate to find areas of agreement and finalize bills that can pass the House and Senate, and eventually be signed by the Governor. It will be challenging work, but I'm confident we will finish our work on time by putting in long hours over the next several weeks.
Please continue to share with me your thoughts and feedback on the budget and other issues as we reach the final weeks of session. You can email me any time at rep.tara.mack@house.mn or call 651-296-5506.
Last Call for Survey
I will be closing the online version of my legislative survey on Monday. If you haven't had a chance yet, please take my 2015 survey online by clicking here. If you would like a paper copy mailed to you, please call my office at 651-296-5506.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Tara Mack
State Representative, District 57A