Greetings from the House Floor,
Bills passed off the House floor this week were HFs 12 (Establishment of a Blue Alert System), 417 (3 Year Terms for Houston County Economic Development Authority Members) and 239 (Conservators Provided an Exception to Post Bond for Assets of Protected Persons). HF 12 would establish a Blue Alert system to quickly disseminate urgent information to the public about suspects involved in the killing or injuring of a police officer. It is based on the Amber Alert system for missing children and would use the same infrastructure.
I introduced three bills this week: HFs 1627, 1722 and 1798. HF 1627 would fund the Adult Program at the Workforce Service Areas around the state at $20 million over the biennium. These dollars would supplement federal dollars the Workforce Service Areas receive for the Adult Program to help folks identify skills, connect with employers and find jobs. Our local Workforce Service Area is the Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program. HF 1722 would appropriate money to the Department of Public Safety to provide a Kurdish translated written driver’s license test. This bill was brought to my attention by a community organizer with the growing Kurdish population in Moorhead. Currently, the written driver’s license test is available in English, Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Laotian, and Somali. My bill would allow new Kurdish Americans a better opportunity to assimilate into American society through increased access to jobs and education. HF 1798 pertains to paddlewheel style charitable games. In 2012, as a part of the Vikings stadium bill, paddlewheel games were partially made electronic (the wheel system of the games was made electronic). However, the ticketing system of the games still require paper tickets. This bill would allow the game tickets to be electronic through a central server that would control the games. This server would likely be located in Moorhead and result in new jobs to operate and maintain the server.
Thank You for the Opportunity to Serve,
Ben