Dear Friends and Neighbors,
After this week, just over three weeks remain in the current legislative session. My legislative colleague Republicans and I are continuing to work hard toward a strong end to the session passing legislation for the betterment of all Minnesotans!
Rep. Lucero on the House Floor this week fighting to ensure parental rights over their children’s private data.
STUDENT DATA PRIVACY WITHIN EDUCATION BILL
This week the House passed the education omnibus bill prioritizing student safety. The bill includes the Republican school safety package to provide funding and flexibility for our schools to make security upgrades, hire school resource officers, address student mental health, support suicide prevention training for teachers, and more.
The omnibus bill also includes multiple provisions from my student data privacy bill HF 1507. Several provisions included are:
- Technology providers would be prohibited from sharing, selling, or disseminating student private information
- Student private information is NOT the property of the technology providers
- Student private information must be returned or destroyed within 30 days upon the expiration of the contract with a school
- Technology providers would be required to notify the school district of a breach of student private information
- Technology providers would be required to have a security policy in place following the Principle of Least Privilege which limits access to student private information to only those with a requirement to have access
- Requires a technology provider’s security policy to be public information
- School districts would be required to turn over a copy of any contract with a technology provider within two-weeks of receiving a request from a parent/guardian for the contract
- School districts would be encouraged to make training available to all school staff on the requirements of the current federal law Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Rep. Lucero visiting with fourth graders this week during their field trip to the Capitol from Kaleidoscope Charter School in Otsego.
3RD LOSS FOR STATE AUDITOR REBECCA OTTO
In a unanimous ruling last week the MN Supreme Court delivered the third consecutive court loss to State Auditor Rebecca Otto in her lawsuit against Wright County resulting in a giant victory for MN taxpayers!
Auditor Otto began her ill-advised quest squandering taxpayer dollars by filing an arbitrary and frivolous lawsuit in 2015 against Wright, Becker, and Ramsey Counties. Auditor Otto subsequently lost in MN District Court but appealed, lost in MN Court of Appeals but appealed, and last week lost in MN Supreme Court!!
I’m having conversations with Chair of the State Government Finance Committee Sarah Anderson to attempt to include a provision in her omnibus bill to reimburse Wright County the approximate $71,000 expense to defend against Rebecca Otto.
Rep. Lucero meeting with representatives from Kwik Trip this week during their visit to the Capitol. In October 2016 the new Kwik Trip station located at Hwy 101 and County Road 38 was opened serving eastern Otsego / Saint Michael and western Dayton.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT LEGISLATION
In the Civil Law Committee this week we heard bipartisan legislation chief authored by Rep. Joyce Peppin that would make Minnesota the first state in the nation to remove the existing "severe or pervasive" standard sexual harassment cases must currently meet in order to be actionable in court. We heard feedback in committee from employment law attorneys and other experts who testified the current standard is a barrier preventing many severe sexual harassment cases from moving forward in court.
The proposed legislation makes zero change to the existing definition of sexual harassment in state statute but rather would result in "an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment" no longer requiring "harassing conduct or communication" to be "severe or pervasive." This proposed change would give judges greater discretion to proceed with sexual harassment cases that previously may not have met the high standard set by the US Supreme Court in 1986.
The bill passed out of the House Civil Law Committee with the next stop being the full House Floor.
STAYING IN TOUCH
As always please contact me to share any issues, concerns, or feedback you may have that will assist me best represent you. The best way to reach me is by email at Rep.Eric.Lucero@House.MN or by phone at 651-296-1534.
Sincerely,
Eric Lucero
State Representative
District 30B
Albertville, Hanover, Otsego, Saint Michael, and the Wright County portion of Dayton