ST. PAUL – Minnesota state legislators gathered at the Capitol today for the first day of the 2015 legislative session. The eighty-ninth session of the legislature includes 26 new members of the Minnesota House of Representatives who were sworn into office along with their colleagues, including Rep. Jennifer Schultz (DFL- Duluth).
“It is an exciting day, and I’m ready to serve my community,” said Rep. Schultz on her first official day as an elected representative. “Today we all gathered and pledged to our state and each other that we will uphold our constitution. When I looked around at all of the different voices that had gathered in this one place from all over Minnesota, it was a truly profound experience. I’m inspired to work together to find solutions for the issues we face, and I’m honored to be a part of this new chapter in Minnesota history.”
Rep. Schultz was joined by family and friends for the swearing-in ceremony that took place in the Minnesota House Chamber.
A long-time Duluth resident and faculty at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Rep. Schultz has been preparing for the start of her first term. Late in December, Speaker-designate Kurt Daudt appointed her to three committees: Agriculture Policy, Health and Human Services Reform, and State Government Finance.
“All of the preparation has been done, and now it’s time to get to work on the concerns that I’ve heard from Duluth neighbors and community leaders,” said Rep. Schultz. “I’m fortunate to begin my service with Minnesota facing a modest budget surplus, but there is still a lot of work to do to ensure Minnesota’s working families have the ability to provide for their children, save for the future, and control the direction of their own dreams. The economic security of the families in our district is going to be a leading priority for me. That includes keeping health insurance premiums in our state health insurance exchange the lowest in the country.”
Schultz said other areas of focus important to her Duluth community include continuing investments in the E-12 education system, solving the funding backlog of transportation infrastructure projects throughout the state, and ensuring the creation of good-paying jobs in Duluth.
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