Neighbors,
I can’t thank you enough for putting your trust in me to represent our district at the State Capitol as your state representative. I am excited to work for, and with, our community to build on the progress of former Rep. Susan Allen. I want to thank her for her years of service to Minneapolis and to Minnesota.
Committee Updates
Last Thursday, the Government Operations Committee that I serve on met to discuss bills related to an ERA Amendment. One of the bills would seek to have gender equality be provided for in our state constitution, with a proposed constitutional amendment. Our committee unanimously passed the bills. If the Minnesota ERA Amendment gets approved by the full legislature, we would have a question on the 2020 ballot asking Minnesotans to weigh in on whether gender equality under law should be part of the state constitution.
As your legislator, I am committed to working toward equality for ALL individuals in our community. This is why I support the passage of equal rights amendments to both the state and federal constitutions. They are much needed measures that would take an important step forward in providing equality for all of Minnesota’s citizens.
Additionally, I support a strong Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on gender in areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, public service, education, credit, and business.
I will also serve on the following committees: Environment and Natural Resources, Higher Education Finance and Policy, and Taxes. Even my son, Andre, was able to have some fun in our Taxes Committee meeting.
Rep. Gomez with Andre in Taxes Committee
Legislation
So far, we’ve made a lot of progress introducing legislation that will help improve the lives of the families in our community. I’ve co-sponsored legislation to increase funding for the Minnesota Family Investment Program to help families with children make ends meet. I’ve also co-authored legislation introducing a constitutional amendment to make cannabis legal, regulated and taxed for people 21+ in Minnesota. Click here to see more legislation I have co-authored.
On Tuesday I participated in a press conference focused on gender violence. I discussed a bill I am going to introduce which would repeal the statute of limitations on criminal sexual conduct and sex trafficking that prevents survivors from seeking justice. The pain and suffering of survivors of sexual violence doesn’t end then the statute of limitations is up. The arbitrary dates set by the state only suppress the stories of survivors. We need to make a change and ensure anyone can come forward after experiencing trauma, when they are ready.
I want to be as open and accessible to you as possible. Feel free to reach out anytime with concerns, questions and ideas. You can email me at rep.aisha.gomez@house.mn, call at 651-296-7152, and visit my office in room 529 of the State Office Building.
Sincerely,
Aisha Gomez