Neighbors,
We’re a little over halfway through the legislative session, and I want to thank all of you who have written, called and stopped by the Capitol share your stories and help shape our state’s priorities. Here’s an update from the last week.
Equity in Education
The Bureau of Indian Education is responsible for overseeing Indian education across the United States. Minnesota has funded grant programs to support American Indian students in public schools since the 1970s, but these schools are often shockingly underfunded, dilapidated, and operate without school supplies as basic as lab tables and microscopes.
In many remote areas of Minnesota, they are the only hope for students. Yet funding for these schools has fallen over the past decade and a half. Minnesota’s supplemental aid is set to drop back from $3,230 to $1,500 per pupil – but my bill, which received a hearing in the Education Finance committee this week, would permanently raise the maximum allowance back to $3,230 per student. All students in Minnesota should have access to a great education and good schools.
Paid Family Leave Approved by Fourth Committee
House File 5 allows eligible Minnesotans to get up to 12 weeks of paid leave from their jobs so they can help a spouse or loved one recover from a serious accident, bond with a newborn baby, or care for an aging parent.
I am in agreement with Governor Walz that this is a moral and an economic issue. It has been proven that when families have the time they need to care for loved ones there is an increase in the percentage of women in the work force, reduced disparities in family leave between all levels of income earners, and help maintaining stable incomes for low and middle-income fammilies.
Families shouldn’t have to choose between caring for a loved one and missing a paycheck. That’s why my House DFL colleagues and I are committed to making Paid Family Leave a reality for all Minnesotans this year.
Click here to listen to chief author Rep. Laurie Halverson of Eagan talk about the bill.
Healthy Child Development
After today, any bills that haven’t had a committee hearing don’t move forward this year, so I was glad to have a hearing on my bill, HF 1381, creating community solutions for healthy child development. This bill will create a Community Solutions Advisory Council, which would provide grants to organizations that would best serve the program’s mission. The program would improve child development outcomes for children of color and American Indian children from prenatal to grade 3, and their families. Here are the folks from the Voices and Choices Coalition who have worked so hard to craft this legislation:
Women’s Health
Senate Republicans have continued to attack women’s rights to make their own health care decisions. Yesterday I stood with House leadership to support women and health care providers who have to make difficult choices late in a pregnancy. A kindergarten teacher shared an emotional story in which, after a miscarriage, she had to have an abortion so that the health consequences of the unborn child wouldn’t also take away her ability to have children in the future. Under the Republican Senate proposal, that woman would not have been able to go on to have the baby she has now, and the doctors who performed a life-saving procedure would have been committing a felony. You can read more here.
Supporting Libraries
Libraries are a place for children to learn, explore, solve problems, disconnect, and go beyond academic requirements. So, of course I was excited to participate in the 2019 Minnesota Legislature Library Day on the Hill!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend! If you have any concerns you can reach me at rep.mary.kuneshpodein@house.mn or by phone at 651-296-4331.
Sincerely,
Mary KP |