Dear Neighbors,

Last Tuesday, I had the tremendous honor to take the oath of office to begin a new term in the Minnesota House. It was a unique first day, as most of us remained in our offices to follow health and safety protocols. I remain committed to improving opportunities for everyone both on the Iron Range and throughout the state. I do so with a spirit of cooperation and trust so we can do the hard work, together, to deliver a stronger future for everyone.

Unfortunately, what occurred in Washington, D.C. the following day highlighted just how far apart we are as Americans. Violence is never an acceptable answer, and the toxic rhetoric that fueled the rioting has no place in our political discourse. It’s time to tamp down the divisiveness and begin healing so this country can tackle the major challenges before us.

Committee Assignments

This session, I’ll remain Vice Chair of the House Education Finance Committee Yesterday, we held our first hearing to examine the numerous difficulties students, educators, and families have experienced under distance learning. All Minnesota students deserve an excellent education, and it’s critical for them to return to the classroom for in-person instruction with a teacher when they can do so safely.

I’m also excited to serve as a member of the Subcommittee on Legislative Process Reform. I’ve heard concerns from many constituents about the current peacetime emergency and executive actions taken by the governor in response to COVID-19. In this committee, we will closely examine each of these orders to determine which should remain, which should be modified, and which are appropriate to eliminate entirely. It’s critical for the legislature to have a role in this process, and this committee will provide us a forum to thoughtfully determine the best path forward. Beyond the current peacetime emergency, the committee will examine our entire chapter of law around the governor’s emergency authority to see what can be improved to protect Minnesotans not just during a pandemic, but during other emergencies – including natural disasters or a potential homeland security emergency.

Additionally, I’ll serve on the Higher Education, Industrial Education & Economic Development, and Redistricting committees.

New COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard

The state of Minnesota has a new COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard available to allow Minnesotans to easily see key data about the progress in distributing the vaccine. The dashboard includes information on the number of doses promised (allocated) to the state by the federal government; shipped to Minnesota providers; and administered to Minnesotans. The dashboard will be updated daily.

Yesterday, some good news came when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced they will be delivering more doses of the vaccine to Minnesota and eight other states. I’m hopeful we can receive the vaccine in increasingly higher volumes to help immunize more Minnesotans – especially the most vulnerable – more quickly.

This session, much of the House’s activity will be exclusively online. To stay up to date with what’s happening, check out the nonpartisan, informative resources from House Public Information Services, including their daily newsletter Session Daily, and video of all committee hearings and floor sessions. I also invite you to follow me on Facebook, and if you have friends, neighbors, or coworkers you think would be interested in receiving these updates, please share this with them. They can subscribe here.

Please continue to contact me with your input, ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance. It’s an honor to represent you.

Together,

Julie Sandstede
State Representative