Dear Neighbors,
We’re getting back to work here at the Minnesota House after our Easter and Passover recess. The majority of the week has been spent debating and voting on components of our Minnesota Values Budget on the House floor, often late into the night. Here’s an update on the budget bills we’re voting on, as well as a quick legislative survey for you to take.
Legislative Survey
I am a firm believer that the legislative process should be transparent, inclusive, and responsive to your needs. I would be grateful if you would take the time to fill out this legislative survey about some of the topics we are debating during the 2019 legislative session. I hope to learn more about your values and priorities for our community, and for Minnesota.
E-12 Education
Our first floor vote on a major budget bill took place this Tuesday, and it was great to start this process off by taking up a bill that would do so much to improve our schools and communities. The House’s E-12 Education budget invests in Minnesota’s students, regardless of zip code.
The House DFL E-12 Education budget includes an historic $900 million in new investments that would increase per-pupil funding, address Minnesota’s special education funding shortfall, recruit and retain more teachers of color, and expand student’s ability to earn college credits and develop skills through career and technical programs.
You can read more about the House’s debate over the education budget here.
Jobs & Energy
What initially started as a late night debate on Tuesday, the vote on our Jobs & Energy budget wouldn’t take place for almost 24 hours. Adjourning at midnight, we took the bill back up Wednesday morning and spent the day debating the benefits of the budget. I was more than happy to support the Jobs & Energy budget bill, as it invests in several major priorities of the DFL House that would protect our workers and expand our clean energy economy.
Too many Minnesotans are forced to make a decision between work and taking care of a baby, a loved one, or themselves. This budget delivers solutions for our hard-working families like Paid Family & Medical Leave and Earned Sick & Safe Time. Other components of the Jobs & Energy budget include:
- Wage Theft Prevention
- Solar on Schools
- Net Neutrality
- Dairy Assistant, Investment, and Relief Initiative
- Border-to-Border Broadband
- A Goal for 100% Clean Energy by 2050
- $10 Million for Dairy Farmer Relief
Coming Up
Today we’ll be spending the majority of our time on the House floor debating our budget for Health and Human Services (HHS), which is another great bill that works to make all levels of health care more accessible and affordable for Minnesotans. Highlights on the HHS budget include reductions in prescription drug prices by holding Big Pharma accountable, protecting elders and vulnerable adults from abuse and neglect, putting Minnesota on the pathway to a public health care option, and taking serious action to address the surge of youth tobacco use.
Possibly late tonight or early tomorrow, we’ll also take on our Tax bill and the other remaining budget bills in the coming days. The Minnesota Senate is doing similar work at the moment, and this will eventually lead to our differing budget bills heading to conference committees to produce consensus legislation. Our budget bills could look very different by the time they come back to the House floor for their final approval, but I’ll be sure to continue to work for policies and investments that move Minnesota and our community forward, strengthening the common good.
Stay In Touch!
As always, you can contact me at rep.todd.lippert@house.mn, or at (651) 296-0171. I look forward to hearing your questions and comments on the legislative process.
Sincerely,
Todd Lippert |
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