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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Laurie Halverson (DFL)

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Legislative Update - February 17, 2017

Friday, February 17, 2017

Dear Neighbors,

Here’s the latest from District 51B…

Community Happenings

Eagan 4th Annual Super Bagging

On Super Bowl weekend I joined with community members including, business leaders, state, county and city officials, school teachers and student leaders for the fourth annual Super Bagging Event to benefit the The Open Door Food Pantry. Our Eagan Cub Foods stores served as host and sponsors of this event. The Open Door, with locations in Eagan, Apple Valley and Lakeville, is vital resource for families in our community. Food insecurity is a growing issue in Eagan and in other suburbs as middle class families continue to feel pressures of increasing costs for health care and higher education coupled with stagnant wages.  The Open Door provides assistance to thousands of our neighbors.

Together, the 200 volunteers helped raise $30,000 in cash and food donations over the Super Bowl weekend.

 

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Action at the Capitol

School Bus Safety Bill advances

On Monday, I presented HF 455 to the Transportation Policy Committee. The idea for this bill was brought to me by an Eagan family who witnessed a bus stop in their neighborhood located in a right turn lane. When children would board or depart the bus, the driver did not activate the flashing lights or stop arm of the bus. After some research, it turned out that public safety rules actually prohibits school buses from activating their stop arm and flashing lights if a bus stop is in a right turn lane. Working with this family, I crafted a bill to require the use of these safety features so that drivers know that children are near. It’s a pretty simple piece of legislation that will keep children safe, and it is always a pleasure to work with citizens to improve state law. You can read a story about the bill in Session Daily.

Stadium Authority Bill

On Tuesday we heard HF 778 in State Government Policy Committee. HF 778 would reorganize the Minnesota Sports Facility Board and limit their ability to use stadium suites. I voted for an amendments that would add all other MN sports venues, not just US Bank Stadium, to the additional oversight and to prohibit other entities from giving tickets free or reduced cost to elected officials. Both amendments failed on a party line vote. I voted to support the bill to revise stadium authority oversight.

Rules of the House

This week on the House floor, members debated the rules of the House. This year’s rules debate focused a great deal of attention on bring greater transparency to the work of the Legislature. Most notably, The House DFL brought forward an amendment to the rules to prohibit the use of a secretly installed “mute-all” button at the Speaker’s desk. The mute button was installed and used to mute members of the minority party during the 2016 legislative session--without the knowledge of members. As a member of the Minnesota House, I was shocked to learn of this new feature in a news article of all places after the 2016 session had ended. House rules require all floor proceedings to be broadcast and recorded for the benefit of the public. Using a mute button to silence debate is a direct violation of those rules, and I believe it is a breach of the public trust. I spoke in favor of prohibiting the use of the mute button, as I believe in a transparent government that is accountable to the people. I vehemently oppose the silencing of the voices in the minority—regardless of who is in charge. The framers of our Constitution, who lived under a dictatorship, sought to create a republic that ensures people to have voice in public debate—be they members of the majority or minority. Although the amendment was defeated, I will continue to call on the Speaker, now and in future sessions, to disable the mute-all button and allow free, fair and open debate in our House chamber.

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings

While a lot of my time as a legislator is spent in committees or voting on the House floor, I reserve much of my time at the Capitol and in our district to meet with constituents. This week I have had the pleasure of meeting with Eaganites who came to the Capitol to advocate for the YMCA, the Minnesota Nurses Association, the Trucking Association, the March of Dimes and the Alzheimer’s association, among others Citizens are such a vital part of policy making, and these visits are very helpful to me as I seek to understand the myriad issues that come before me as the representative of our community. Thanks to you, citizen advocates!

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Photo: Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association visit with Representative Halverson.

Finally, I want to make sure you know you can contact me about any issues that are important to you. Please don’t hesitate to contact me to schedule an appointment or share your concerns via phone or e-mail.

You call my office at 651-296-4128 or email me at rep.laurie.halverson@house.mn

Sincerely,

Laurie Halverson