Dear Neighbors,
It’s a busy week here in St. Paul. As you probably know, Gov. Dayton delivered his State of the State address, and the following day announced his proposed budget. There will be a great deal of discussion surrounding his proposals in the days and weeks to come, but I think he has some great ideas to improve opportunities in every corner of the state. Whether it be an increase in funding for schools, economic development tools like the Minnesota Investment Fund and Job Creation Fund, money for broadband infrastructure, or a public option for Minnesotans to purchase health insurance, there is a lot to like in this budget. You can check out the details of the Governor’s proposal for yourself here.
I wanted to draw your attention to some of the bills I have introduced thus far this session:
HF473 Virginia; Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees required to grant easements to the Housing and Redevelopment Authority.
HF432 Mountain Iron; Enterprise Drive North road improvement funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF416 Mesabi Trail funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF415 Virginia; utility relocation related to relocation of Highway 53 funding provided, and money appropriated.
HF408 Iron Range school consolidation and cooperatively operated school account expenditure provisions modified.
HF407 Northeast Regional Corrections Center funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF343 Virginia; Miner's Memorial Building funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
HF342 St. Louis and Itasca Counties; six unorganized territories added to distributions of the production tax on taconite.
HF229 Water supply system for northeast Minnesota communities funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
Others bills are still being finalized, and I’ll get them out to you as soon as they are introduced and given a number. If you’d like to track the legislation I introduce throughout the session on your own, you can find an updated list of bills at this link. The Legislature’s website also has a tool called MyBills which you can use to receive alerts about legislation of your choice all session long. You can sign up for an account to use this service here.
Lastly, I’d like to share warm wishes for Gov. Dayton as he fights some challenges related to his health. Although we have disagreed from time to time, Gov. Dayton has been there when we needed him most. He has helped make government work for local families who were struggling with layoffs, and many who have lost access to healthcare. I want to wish him all the best in his recovery.
Thank you again for the opportunity to serve. Please continue to contact me with your questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Jason Metsa
State Representative