Dear neighbors,
I hope everyone who celebrated holidays this past weekend had a joyful time with friends and family. Legislators just returned from a short break to observe the holidays and are now preparing to head into the second half of the legislative session.
Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to at the State Capitol recently:
House Floor Votes
This week the House began passing policy bill packages in major issue areas building on the work of our historically productive 2023 session and improving the lives of Minnesotans. The House passed two policy bills supporting our Departments of Military Affairs and Veterans Affairs, which passed with unanimous support!
We passed a higher education policy bill that includes the clean energy sector in our Workforce Development Scholarship Program and expands support in higher education for students who have a disability. We also passed an early education policy bill focused on strengthening our pre-kindergarten and school readiness programs. Finally, we passed a transportation policy package that improves road safety, DVS wait times, child passenger safety, and consumer protections.
Committee Hearings
This week, I presented my bills, HF 4659 and HF 4818, to the House Labor Committee. As Minnesota makes significant investments in broadband deployment, including a substantial infusion from the federal government, we must not only ensure we invest in high-quality broadband infrastructure, but also that the work is done safely and in a way that develops a skilled workforce. HF 4659 establishes guardrails to ensure broadband is not being deployed at the expense of worker safety, public safety, or in ways that compromise critical infrastructure. This bill aims to raise quality and safety standards, reduce turnover, and ensure our deployment of broadband infrastructure produces jobs with family-supporting wages and benefits.
HF 4818, or the MSP Health Care Equity Act, would require an employer to provide an employee who enrolls in an employer-provided health benefits plan the minimum fringe benefits as determined by the Single Case Agreement. Our Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport service workers are a workforce most often powered by immigrant workers. They keep our airports safe, clean, and running on time, and play a critical role in keeping MSP’s elite status as one of the nation’s best airports. DFLers believe an efficient, 21st century air travel system starts with an empowered, well-trained, and stable workforce within our airports. We must invest in the workers who do the difficult and often-disregarded work. Our workers deserve respect, dignified work, and access to affordable health care.
Veterans Day at the Capitol
Veterans and supporters are invited to participate in the annual Veterans Day on the Hill, on Wednesday, April 17. Advocate for veterans’ issues, meet with legislators and attend the State Capitol rotunda rally. I hope to see you at the Capitol on April 17!
Stay In Touch
If you have questions, ideas, or feedback you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Email me at rep.kaela.berg@house.mn.gov or call (651) 296-5387. For more regular updates, you can subscribe to these regular legislative updates if you haven’t already, here, and you can also “like” and follow my official State Representative Facebook page.
Sincerely,
Kaela Berg
State Representative