Dear Neighbors,
I’m thankful for the constituents who make the trip to Saint Paul to advocate for the issues they care about. This includes a recent visit from school counselors for Mankato Area Public Schools. Minnesota lags far behind other states in counselor-to-student ratio. I’m committed to ensuring our students can have more access to the critical support counselors provide.
Minnesota Values Budget
Our single biggest responsibility this legislative session is to pass a two-year state budget. Governor Walz has announced his budget proposal, and this week, my House DFL colleagues and I released our Minnesota Values Budget framework. This budget makes significant investments in education, affordable health care, economic prosperity, and safe communities to build a Minnesota that works better for everyone. In talking to people, these are the issues people care deeply about, and by prioritizing our budget in these areas, we can strengthen the lives of all Minnesotans.
In the coming days, we will see more specific proposals emerge concerning various areas of the budget. It’s my goal to finish our session with a budget that is sustainable, treats all Minnesotans fairly, and ensures a strong future for our state.
Corrections Division
As chair of the House Corrections Division, I’m proud of the work we’ve done to improve the climate inside of our correctional facilities. No matter if you work there, or if you are incarcerated there, you deserve to come home safely. We’ve talked closely to those who work within the walls of our prisons to identify shortcomings. The committee even took the unprecedented step of holding a legislative hearing inside a correctional facility.
Working together, we’ve put together our committee’s omnibus bill containing several provisions addressing these shortcomings. Some of these include changes to disciplinary segregation, reestablishment of the ombudsman for corrections, increased funding for corrections officers, and ideas to better address offenders’ mental health needs. The bill also bans the state from doing business with private prisons, which have historically had a poor track record of safety and little success in reducing recidivism.
Services for People with Disabilities
All Minnesotans deserve to live with dignity and we have a moral responsibility to ensure people with disabilities can live full, healthy lives. I am committed to keeping the promises we’ve made to these individuals, and improving the resources they rely on.
Unfortunately, wages for those who have jobs in home and community-based settings haven’t kept pace with where they need to be. This is shameful, and it’s wrong that we’ve expected these employees to care for our most vulnerable while earning poverty level pay. I’ve introduced legislation to set a minimum wage of $14 for these dedicated workers. Low reimbursement rates have prevented have largely prevented pay raises, and my bill includes an investment from the state to pay for this. Care workers aren’t looking for anything extravagant, but are just looking to be paid fairly. We value these Minnesotans, and I hope we can come together on a bipartisan basis to prove it through what we pay them.
Please continue to reach out with your input and ideas. It’s an honor to represent you at the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Jack Considine
State Representative
Rep. Jack Considine
433 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
www.house.mn/19B
Chair, House Corrections Division
Phone: 651-296-3248
E-mail: rep.jack.considine@house.mn
Legislative Assistant: Adam Kopel, 651-296-4165