Week-in-Review Video
Update from the Capitol
Constituents and friends,
I’m excited to share my first weekly update from our state Capitol! I’ve had a very busy two months, and have been learning an enormous amount about the legislative process and how to best advocate for the SD44 community in the Senate.
I’m currently the chief author of 11 excellent bills, and have signed on as a co-author of an additional 33 bills – you can find the details of each piece of legislation on my Senate website, by scrolling down to the Bills Authored section.
We have already taken several votes on the Senate floor, including many bills that are particularly controversial. In recent weeks, I voted against SF 1, which would allow businesses to open without extremely-important worker and customer protections, and against SF 2, which would prohibit future governors from directly safeguarding schools and students during peacetime emergencies (not just pandemics, but weather disasters, nuclear accidents, and more).
I was proud to make my first-ever floor speech during my first week on the job in January, in support of a proposed mask mandate for the Senate floor and in Senate office spaces – you can watch that speech below. I remain disappointed that said mandate was rejected by my Republican colleagues, who hold the Senate majority – we needed to set a good example for the rest of the state, but failed to do so.
The Transportation Committee, where I serve as the DFL vice-lead, has been very active over the past few months. We have received many informational presentations from the state departments that fall under our jurisdiction, from the Department of Transportation to the State Patrol, and have heard dozens of bills, including a 19-bill agenda during yesterday’s meeting.
Transportation was also the forum for my first-ever bill hearing, which occurred in mid-February. I advocated on behalf of my SF 94 legislation, which would provide a grant to the I-494 Corridor Commission to support their telework promotion efforts in the communities along Interstate 494. I was joined by some great staff from the Corridor Commission, who made a strong case on their own behalf.
SF 94 was held over for potential inclusion in an omnibus spending bill, which means that I’ll be negotiating for its addition to a large, multi-bill package, all of which involve the expenditure of state funds, that will be passed out of the Transportation Committee near the end of the legislative session in May.
My other committee, the Capital Investment Committee, has thus far been significantly less active than Transportation. However, we’re expecting to meet often over the next few months to discuss a potential bonding package that would assist Minnesota’s economic recovery from COVID-19 and put people to work on public works projects in cities and counties across the state.
I’m excited to advocate for projects that we need in SD44, and to put my engineering expertise to use as we decide if and where to spend state funds.
COVID-19 & Vaccine Information
More than 40,000 doses of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine arrived in Minnesota this week. This vaccine only involves one dose, and does not need to be frozen like the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, so expectations are high that it will be an extremely useful tool in our vaccination efforts.
Minnesota now ranks third in the country in percentage of doses received from the federal government that have been administered.
We are still in Phase 1A of the vaccination plan, which includes frontline healthcare workers, residents of long-term care facilities, those aged 65 and older, and childcare and K-12 education personnel. Once 70% of Minnesotans over 65 have been vaccinated, which is expected in late March, the next phases will begin.
- Hotline for health questions: 612-201-3920 or 1-800-657-3903 (staffed 6 am to 8 pm daily)
- Hotline for school and childcare questions: 651-297-1304 or 1-800-657-3504 (staffed 7 am to 7 pm daily)
- Hotline for childcare providers with questions: 1-888-234-1268
- Hotline for workers and employers: 651-259-7114 or 800-657-3858
- Hotline if you experience or witness bias and/or discrimination: 1-833-454-0148 (staffed Monday-Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm)
Community Events & News
The Minnetonka City Council will meet virtually at 6:30 pm on Monday, March 8th. You can find the meeting link and comment form here.
The Plymouth City Council will meet virtually twice on Tuesday, March 9th: a special session at 5 pm to discuss County Road 73 (which will not include time for public comment), and a regular meeting at 7 pm. Details for each meeting can be found, respectively, here and here.
The Woodland City Council will not meet next week.
I hosted my first solo Zoom town hall on February 25th, which went very well – my first town hall as a legislator was with Representatives Klevorn (District 44A) and Acomb (District 44B), who joined me in January for a joint, full-delegation conversation. Keep an eye on my social media channels and this newsletter for updates about my future town halls – I will hold at least one per month.
Be well, stay safe, and don’t hesitate to contact me at any time with input, questions, or concerns.
