Greetings,
It has been a busy stretch of meeting with people from our district visiting St. Paul and I want to thank all those who have taken time out of their own busy schedules to come discuss issues at the Capitol.
In the above photo, I am joined by Paynesville officials including, from left, Joe Kremer from the American Legion, Mayor Jeff Thompson and Alicia LaBeau of the city council. They came to St. Paul, in part, to advocate for legislation Sen. Fischbach and I are carrying to rename a stretch of Highway 23 in honor of Paynesville war hero Kenneth L. Olson, a 1963 Paynesville High School graduate. The bill is advancing through both bodies of the Legislature and I remain optimistic it will reach the finish line.
I also recently met with constituents and area students to discuss issues related to dyslexia and education. Many schools are lacking the resources to meet the needs of children with dyslexia. We need to improve our educational process to ensure children are adequately screened and the tools are there for our schools to implement more inclusive programs and benefit students who are more responsive to alternate learning methods. We talked about a bill (H.F. 668) that would help in this regard by providing school districts with state support and guidance, while also making grant dollars available.
Area township officials also came to St. Paul this week to talk about their top issues, particularly transportation and broadband. On transportation, they are looking for funding that’s available at their level, similar to the package enacted during the last biennium which, for the first time, provided small cities (5,000 or less) with direct aid for local road and bridge repair. That is an issue that is likely to be part of an overall transportation budget this session. On a somewhat related note, a bill I am authoring again this session to direct sales taxes we already pay when purchasing auto parts toward roads and bridges is advancing through the committee process, clearing one panel this week and scheduled for another hearing in Taxes.
The township officials also expressed a need for greater broadband availability in underserved regions of our state. The Legislature in 2015-16 expanded broadband funding by more than double the total investment made in previous years, with a focus on improving access in Greater Minnesota. This also will be a continuing topic of discussion.
Another bill (H.F. 457) I have authored which is moving through committees would allow an extension on money we appropriated during the last biennium to help fight Aquatic Invasive Species in Lake Koronis. It has taken more time than previously expected to mobilize this project and, without my bill, the unspent funds would no longer be available and remain with the state.
As for news from the House floor, on Monday the body approved a bill legalizing the Sunday sales of liquor, beer and wine. It was the first time in state history that standalone legislation on this issue has been voted on or approved. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
The House also approved a bill to bring Minnesota into compliance with increased federal ID standards. This has been an ongoing subject and, without action, today’s standard state ID would not allow Minnesotans to board airplanes as early as this coming January.
The opt-in solution the House proposes is a two-path approach, allowing those who want a Real ID to get one, while also providing people with the option of continuing to use their standard ID. The additional data collected with these IDs will stay with the state and not be subject to a federal database.
Good luck,
Jeff