Dear Neighbor,
We have made significant progress on a veterans-related bill. The bill will reinstate the ability of state law enforcement officers with prior honorable military service to purchase at their own expense retirement credits in the Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS). HF2690 (Lueck)/SF2614 (Anderson) was heard by the Legislative Pensions Commission and was laid over for inclusion in the larger pensions bill that will be moved forward later this session.
Purchasing retirement credits based on active-duty military service was an option for many years within the MSRS system. Several years ago, it was unintentionally not renewed when other non-related adjustments were made to the MSRS retirement system.
Local law enforcement officers, including county deputy sheriffs and city police officers have had that ability within the Public Employee Retirement Association (PERA). HF2690 will put our State Highway Patrol, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Investigators, Conservation Officers and other lesser known state law enforcement officers with prior active duty military service on par with their brothers and sisters within the PERA system.
I want to express my thanks to the state law enforcement officers and their professional organizations that took the time to testify before the commission and write letters of support to correct this unfortunate oversight in the state statutes that currently govern the MSRS retirement system.
The five-judge panel appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court has released the new U.S. Congressional, and Minnesota House and Senate district boundaries this week. The November general election will be based upon the new district boundaries.
This occurs every 10 years based on the last federal census. The 2020 census recorded Minnesota’s population at 5,706,494. District boundaries were adjusted to equalize a population of 85,172 people within the state’s 67 Senate districts and half that number for the 134 House districts.
District 10B as we know it goes into the history books the first week of January 2023 when the 93rd Minnesota Legislature is sworn in. Portions of current 10B, Aitkin County and a portion of Crow Wing, then become elements of new districts 6A, 6B, & 7B and 10A.
With respect to representation in Saint Paul, the district boundary changes do not take effect until 2023. Please be assured I will continue work hard on behalf of all the citizens of our current district to the very last day House District 10B exists as we know it today.
Sincerely,
Dale