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Neighbors,
Our first committee deadline for legislation to be heard was last Friday. Our second deadline is next Friday, so you can imagine the pace of action at the legislature has really picked up. Committees are meeting late into the evening and on Fridays to hear as many bills as possible before the deadlines.
In the Children and Families Finance & Policy Committee this week, I presented my bill for a grant to the ParentChild+ program to support its early childhood literacy and school readiness program for children ages 16 months to four years old. This program has ongoing investments to help parents be their child’s best first teacher.
In the Education Policy Committee, we heard from 99-year-old Holocaust survivor Dora Zaidenweber on a bill requiring Holocaust and genocide education in social studies curriculum for middle and high school students and creating a Holocaust and Genocide Education Task Force.
We also heard a bill to define an active shooter drill and active shooter simulation and establishes requirements for how they may be conducted.
Video of all hearings are available on House Public Information Services’ YouTube channel.
Yesterday I voted in favor of House File 1440. The measure, passed by the full House of Representatives, delivers a one-time $50 million investment in emergency rental assistance to the state’s Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program to address skyrocketing evictions and rent increases. This is a step forward to help our neighbors struggling with paying rent.
Through much of the pandemic, federal rental assistance allowed Minnesotans to maintain housing stability. Many of those funds dried up in January of 2022, but the economic challenges facing low-income families did not. As a result, Minnesota experienced a skyrocketing eviction rate last year with more than 20,000 filed. Many counties across the state have seen 100% increase in eviction filings over pre-pandemic levels.
Video of today’s floor debate can be found on the House Public Information YouTube channel.
I welcomed a constituent to the Capitol during Alzheimer’s Day on the Hill.
I was honored to participate in Monday’s Sovereignty Day at the Capitol, hosted by the Minnesota House of Representatives and Senate. Sovereignty Day is an educational event for legislators on tribal history and culture, sovereignty, and the interplay between federal, state, and tribal law. This event included the leaders of the eleven federally recognized sovereign tribal nations in Minnesota. You can watch the events here.
The Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services offers nonpartisan recaps of high-profile bills, committee hearings, and floor sessions with their Session Daily publication. Subscribe to receive these here. To track bills of interest through the legislative process, I encourage you to utilize the MyBills feature on the Minnesota House of Representatives’ website.
Please continue to reach out with any input, ideas, or feedback about the issues important to you. I value hearing from you, so please don’t hesitate to call or email me any time. You can also connect with me on Facebook here. It’s an honor to represent you at the State Capitol.
Sincerely,
Laurie Pryor
State Representative
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