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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Mary Kunesh-Podein (DFL)

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Happy New Year!

Monday, December 30, 2019

Rep. Kunesh-Podein

Greetings to all, 

Most of us have gathered with our family and friends over the past weeks of holidays and now we are about to usher in a new decade. I want to wish you and your loved ones a safe, prosperous, and healthy New Year.  

We have much to be grateful for as we close out 2019; a new year is always a hopeful time when the possibility of fulfilling our personal and professional endeavors feels limitless. 

2019 is an especially great year for Minnesotans, as we prioritized measures that will ensure that parents, seniors, young people and working families can continue to strive for economic and academic growth. Here are some highlights:

  • We secured health care for 1.2 million vulnerable Minnesotans by protecting the Health Care Access Fund.
  • We made strong investments in education, providing a two percent per-pupil increase each year for the next two years.
  • We protected access to voluntary pre-k for over 4,000 of our youngest learners to make sure every child gets off to a great start
  • Wage theft costs the average minimum wage worker $2,634 a year. Minnesotans deserve an hour’s pay for an hour’s work, and this year we passed the strongest wage theft enforcement law in the nation, which will hold accountable the employers who deny workers their hard-earned pay.
  • We passed into law my public safety measures to create a task force to stem historic and pervasive violence against Native women, and the “buttocks bill,” which closes a loophole in sexual harassment law.
  • After 33 years, we finally passed my bill to increase monthly support through the Minnesota Family Investment Program, which serves 91,000 low-income families and pregnant women while they transition to work.   

In a divided legislature, our bipartisan agreements are just the first step in a longer road toward a more prosperous, more equal, and more vibrant Minnesota.

It is that spirit of progressive and caring leadership that has made me proud to represent our communities for the past three years and this will sustain me as I prepare for my second re-election race in 2020. 

Each year, we get closer to providing living wages with benefits for the countless working families who comprise the solid and colorful fabric of Minnesota’s diverse communities. I look forward to your continued inspiration, support, and friendship as we move closer to the new legislative session. 

Here are some of the things we’ve been working on over the past months:

Minnesota’s Budget Forecast

Minnesota Management and Budget recently released the latest projections for Minnesota’s budget, and though we have a projected balance of $1.3 billion, there are many other factors to consider as we plan for Minnesota’s future. For one, inflation itself is estimated to account for over $1 billion, and there is also an excess of unfilled jobs, uncertain federal trade policies, and a potential economic slowdown to take into account. So while Minnesota is currently in a strong financial position, we need to be diligent and prudent in our work going forward so as not to jeopardize our efforts to deliver the quality education, health care, workforce, and infrastructure Minnesotans deserve.

For more about the economic forecast, you can read a story from MPR here: https://bit.ly/2SDW4bi.

2020 Bonding Bill

A big focus of this upcoming session will be the 2020 public works investment package, called a Bonding Bill. The House Capital Investment Committee toured the state this year, visiting various projects and infrastructure sites all over Minnesota for consideration in the bill. I look forward to championing them this session. In District 41, priorities will be making improvements to the Emergency Operations Training Facility for emergency personnel, and securing funding to complete the train station in Fridley for the NorthStar Commuter Rail while looking into making New Brighton a whistle-free city.

Bonding Tour Gif

Addressing Climate Change

During the interim, we saw thousands of young Minnesotans march for action on climate change, and in response, my colleagues and I formed the Climate Action Caucus. We’ve been holding informational hearings on how climate change impacts various policy areas, including transportation, housing, and public health. Our next meeting, January 12, will cover the impact of climate change on Minnesota’s environment. You can find more information on the Climate Action Caucus, including updates and a meeting schedule, on our website: www.house.mn/climateactioncaucus.

Recently, Governor Walz announced the creation of a Climate Change Subcabinet as well as an advisory council on climate change, and members of the Minnesota Senate established their Clean Energy & Climate Caucus. This will be a huge issue to take on, especially with Minnesota being one of the fastest-warming states in the nation, but I look forward to starting next session with the momentum we’ve built.

I’m back to school after the holidays, I’ll be teaching right up to February. This break had given me much appreciated time for family and catching up on… well, a lot!

Wishing you and yours a blessed and Happy New Year!

 

Representative Mary Kunesh-Podein

Assistant Majority Leader

MN District: 41B