 Dear Neighbors,
I hope this email finds you well! House committees are wrapping up their hearings as the final committee deadlines approach next week, which is when House finance committees, except for Taxes and Capital Investment, need to have their final budget bills passed out of their committees. Supplemental budget bills will then make their final stop in Ways and Means before they are up for a vote on the House floor. As this final committee work is happening, we will be spending more time on the House floor passing policy bills.
This week I also had three of my own bills up in committees. On Monday, I had a bonding bill considered for St. Louis Park that invests in improvements to the intersection of Oxford and Louisiana. The project would rehabilitate the roads, create walkability and connection to transit and trails, and mitigate pollutants before they run off into the Minnehaha Creek Watershed. I was joined by Mayor Nadia Mohamed and City Engineering Director, Deb Heiser.
 On Tuesday, I had a bill up in House Education Finance that provides flexibility for school districts in their food service accounts to purchase lunchroom tables. Universal meals is popular and with more students eating meals at school, they need more capacity. That same day I also had a bill up in Taxes that would provide non-profit childcare centers who rent their space a break on their property taxes in the form of a state funded renters credit. Currently, non-profit childcare centers who own their facility receive a property tax exemption. Thank you to the Director Marcy Dearking from Kid Zone Early Learning in Hopkins and Director Kylie Cooper from Rise Early Learning Center in St. Louis Park from testifying on this bill!
Floor Action
On Monday, the House passed the Elections Policy Bill, which focuses on improved voter access and election transparency. It targets policy areas where the state can improve voter turnout and ensure that if voting is restricted, voters have a means of redress.
We also approved the Public Safety Policy Bill on a unanimous vote. The bill continues our comprehensive approach to public safety and crime prevention with support for victims, criminal justice reform, policy modernization, and more.
Yesterday, the House passed a Labor Policy Package that includes provisions to strengthen the minimum wage, ban shadow non-competes, and increase pay transparency. We also passed a K-12 Education Policy Bill. This bill prioritizes policies to improve the experiences of students in Minnesota schools while also making sure the state is measuring and holding schools accountable for academic outcomes. Finally, we advanced bills stabilizing Minnesota’s Disaster Assistance Contingency Account and allowing photos of hunting and fishing licenses to count as proof of license.
Combatting Junk Fees
Last night I proudly voted in favor of two pieces of legislation that will protect Minnesota consumers from deceptive and unfair business practices by ending junk fees and requiring ticket price transparency.
Junk fees are any type of fees or charges that are separate from the list price and not always listed separately. The average Minnesota family pays over $3,000 annually on junk fees that increase prices without a tangible benefit to the consumer. We are all familiar with buying a ticket to a concert, sports game, or other event and seeing extra “service” and “convenience” fees added that provide no additional value to consumers. DFLers are passing legislation to require fair, transparent ticket prices and other important protections for consumers.
Connected to Community
Days on the hill are starting to slow down as we near the end of the legislative session, but I was fortunate to visit with folks who work in small businesses that focus clean energy. It was a great conversation on what we can do to help keep our environment healthy and sustainable for the next generations of Minnesotans and beyond.
Keep in Touch
Please continue to contact me anytime at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889 with questions or input. Email is the quickest way to get in touch.
Thank you for the honor of serving our Hopkins, Edina, and St. Louis Park neighbors in St. Paul.
Enjoy the weather this weekend!
 Cheryl Youakim
State Representative
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