Legislative Update - Legalizing Cannabis for Adult-Use

Dear Granite City Neighbors, 

This has been a busy and productive week in St. Paul, with Wednesday alone seeing three of my bills in committee - all of them successfully passing through to the next stop in the legislative process:

• HF 264 - $18 million for Independent Living Centers, because Minnesotans with disabilities deserve to live with independence and dignity.
• HF 428 - $20 million for Local Public Health Grants, because all Minnesotans deserve quality accessible healthcare.
• HF 217 - $44.9 million to diversify MN’s teacher workforce, because all of our students will benefit when the diversity in our classrooms is reflected by our educators! This is legislation I’m extremely proud to co-author with chief author Rep. Hodan Hassan.

That’s just a snapshot of a busy day at the Minnesota House, and I couldn’t be more honored to be doing this work for our community. Here’s what else is going on:

Legalizing Cannabis for Adult-Use

This week, legislation I’m co-authoring was introduced that would legalize, expunge, and regulate adult-use cannabis in Minnesota. I brought the “Be Heard on Cannabis” tour to St. Cloud in 2019, and at that event I heard a resounding call for smart, responsible cannabis legislation, and that’s what I’m delivering.

Minnesota’s current prohibition on cannabis is doing more harm than good, especially when it comes to the disproportionate amount of Black, Indigenous, and people of color that are being impacted by our outdated laws. We cannot move forward with this legislation unless expungement is included.

With South Dakota recently approving legalized cannabis, Minnesota is falling behind. Hopefully this will be a wakeup call for Republicans in the Minnesota Senate to show that this isn’t a partisan issue, and it’s time Minnesota catches up. 

The COVID-19 Recovery Budget

Last week, Governor Walz released his Covid-19 Recovery Budget, his budget proposal for Minnesota for the next two years. While I’m working on crafting our own proposal in the House, Governor Walz puts us on the right path by putting forward priorities for students, working families, and small businesses. 

Like Governor Walz, I agree that big corporations and the wealthiest Minnesotans need to pay their fair share for Minnesota to bounce back from this pandemic. Despite what Republicans in the House and Senate may say, we can’t cut our way out of this budget challenge. We will build back a strong and healthy state by crafting a responsible, balanced budget that invests in Minnesotans.

Minnesota’s Energy Assistance Program

Temperatures are dropping below zero throughout the state for the next week, and for many, that means the stress of a high heating bill. All Minnesotans deserve to be safe and warm, which is why I want to make sure everyone in our community is aware of Minnesota’s Energy Assistance Program. This program, which helped nearly 118,000 Minnesota households pay their heating bills last year, accepts applications until May 31, however funding is limited and administered on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Energy Assistance Program serves households that earn less than $54,357 for a household of four or $28,266 for a household of one. It helps income-qualifying homeowners and renters with heating bills through grants paid directly to utility companies or heating fuel vendors. If you’re eligible, you can apply for assistance with your  service provider. Call  800-657-3710, and press 1, or visit the Commerce Department’s Energy Assistance Program webpage.

Stay Connected

There’s a lot going on at the Minnesota Legislature, and If you have any questions or comments on our work, please feel free to email me at rep.dan.wolgamott@house.mn, or give me a call at (651) 296-6612. You can also follow along with my work on my member page, “like” my official facebook page, and subscribe to and share these legislative updates. I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Rep. Dan Wolgamott