Friends,
This week I presented my first bill to a committee, House File 587, which will help return property from the Minnesota Unclaimed Property Fund to their rightful owner.
The Unclaimed Property Fund has almost $700 million in lost and unclaimed funds that belongs to Minnesotans. The property could be the last paycheck from an old job, a final few hundred dollars in a forgotten bank account, or an unclaimed insurance policy. As is shown by the massive amount of money in the Unclaimed Property Account, all of this adds up to significant sums of money.
I want the state of Minnesota to make a greater effort to get this property back in the hands of Minnesotans and that is exactly what my bill does. It passed the Commerce and Regulatory Reform Committee and will next go to the Job Growth and Energy Affordability Policy and Finance Committee. I’ll keep you updated when future hearings are scheduled and I present this to the next committee.
In the meantime, make sure to check MissingMoney.com to see if you have any outstanding property.
Bills to help infrastructure in our community
I have introduced three bills to fund projects in and around our area. These projects are needed by our community and will help to update the infrastructure in our area.
HF 1087 – Will appropriate $3.5 million from the general fund to grant the Minnesota Wing Civil Air Patrol to complete renovation of the training and maintenance facility located at the South St. Paul airport.
HF 1002 – Will appropriate $1 million in bond proceeds to fund the reconstruction of Broderick Boulevard. It includes the replacement or renovation of water lines, sewers, storm sewers, and other public utilities.
HF 1000 - Will appropriate $2 million in bond proceeds to help construct realignment of Argenta Trail in Inver Grove Heights. It will help the development of an interchange between Argenta Trail and Highway 55.
Update on US Bank Stadium Controversy
This week both Minnesota Sports Facilities Commission (MSFA) Chair Michele Kelm-Helgen and Executive Director resigned following the hearings last week on the report by the Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles. You can read more on that in last week’s update here. Their resignations were a step forward for the MSFA and the legislature will move forward with reforms to the composition and role of the board.
I am a co-author on the bill (HF778) that will do this and am pleased to report it passed two committees this week with overwhelming and bipartisan votes.
Thank you to the two dozen or so of you who came out to have coffee and discuss the issues with me this morning at my first Coffee with Constituents. I will keep you all informed when we schedule the next one. I also wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time to contact me and chat about the session so far.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas with me. You can schedule a time to meet with me in my office any time by calling me at 651-296-4192, or share your thoughts by emailing me at rep.regina.barr@house.mn.
Have a great weekend,
Regina