Dear Neighbors,
First and foremost, I’d like to extend a big thank you to everyone who attended the Community Listening Session last Saturday. I was so pleased to see such a tremendous turn out; we needed to expand into another room. We had standing room only! What an honor it is to represent such an engaged community and the community in which I grew up.
Here is an update from the Capitol:
REAL ID
Last Monday, the Senate failed to pass their version of the REAL ID bill.
Speaker Daudt held a press conference at the St. Paul/Minneapolis Airport on Sunday to point blame.
Instead of pointing fingers and placing blame, the House and Senate leadership ought to be working to find a solution to pass a clean, bipartisan bill. Compromise is needed.
International Women’s Day
On Wednesday, my DFL colleagues and I celebrated International Women’s Day at the Capitol. Hundreds of supporters participated and the sea of red was inspiring and energizing. We have made some progress for women’s equal rights; I was pleased to be a co-author of the Women’s Economic Security Act (WESA) in 2014, which strengthens workplace protections and flexibility for pregnant women and nursing mothers, expands employment opportunities for women in high-wage, high-demand occupations and reduces the gender pay gap through increased enforcement of equal pay laws. There is more work to be done and I will continue to advocate for women at the Capitol.
Legislative Audit on Standardized Testing
As a member of the Legislative Audit Commission, I requested an audit on the status of standardized testing in Minnesota schools. I’ve heard from community members about the concerns of teaching to a test, and not to the individual student’s needs. The audit report had interesting results and will be having multiple hearings at the Capitol. You may also be interested in reading the StarTribune’s editorial on the legislative audit report. Here is a link to the entire audit.
Please always feel free to contact me with your ideas and input. I can be reached at 651-296-5510 or by email at rep.connie.bernardy@house.mn.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Connie Bernardy
State Representative