Dear neighbors,
We’ve accomplished a lot of great work for Minnesotans at the state capitol this year: middle-class tax cuts, economic security for women, and raising the minimum wage. Several of my own bills passed the House including electronic voting rosters and modifications to child custody and parenting time.
The Minnesota House passed a bill I authored to allow voting precincts to use electronic voting rosters - electronic versions of the paper pollbooks used to store voter information and process voters on Election Day - starting in the 2014 general election. Election judges will be able to use electronic rosters to register new voters, sign voters in, and update registration information. The use of electronic rosters will help to increase speed and accuracy on Election Day, reduce some costs over the paper rosters, and provide better voter privacy.
Changes to child custody and parenting time have been in heated and polarizing debate for nearly a decade. This is unfair and unhealthy for the children this affects - a child’s time spent with their parents should not be surrounded in a cloud of controversy. Last year, a group of stakeholders and legislators met over the year with a professional mediator and developed a set of shared principles on which to base all suggestions. One of the outcomes was a legislative bill that states that there shall be no presumption for or against joint physical custody except when domestic abuse occurs between the parents, and that the age of the child is one of the factors to be considered in determining what is in the best interest of the child. This legislation will help create a stronger family law structure with better outcomes for Minnesota families and children.
We’re nearing the end of session and still have work to do. Please contact me if you have any questions, comments or other feedback. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-4331 or by email at rep.carolyn.laine@house.mn.
Sincerely,
Representative Carolyn Laine