|
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and joyful holiday season! Our girls have been coming home throughout the week, and we are so excited to have all of them home for the holidays!
I hope you all enjoy time with family and friends, have great food, watch Christmas movies ("White Christmas" is a MUST!) and play games. I also hope you find time to reflect on the true meaning of the season – that God loves us and sent His Son on that holy night to become “Immanuel” – God with us!
I love to read during the holidays and two of my favorite books for the season are The Story of the Other Wise Man by Henry van Dyke and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson, which is fun to read with kids or grandkids. I hope you have time to read, get outside and take a break from your usual routine!
With a new year also comes the start of several new laws that passed last session. Below is a roundup of some of the key changes that will take effect January 1, 2024.
Happy New Year!
|
|
|
Executive Summary
-
Social Media and New Year's Resolutions
-
New Laws Take Effect January 1
|
|
Social Media and New Year's Resolutions
As you think about New Year’s Resolutions, I hope you will join me in advocating for schools to go phone-free! This is a simple but effective policy that can significantly improve youth mental health, school climate, and academic achievement. Please contact your local school board members and principals and ask them to adopt a phone-free policy during the school day! It can be done! Maple Grove Middle School has done it very successfully this school year and other schools could follow their lead for the winter/spring term!
I recently was interviewed on CCX Media to talk about phone-free schools and my bill, the SOTA Kids Act, to stop online targeting of kids by social media platforms.
In addition to advocacy, I hope you will also consider joining me in setting new limits on your own use of social media and electronic devices. Adults need less screen time, too, and it will help our kids if we model it! I will be trying to limit my social media time to just when I have something to post about work and I’ll try to keep my phone out of sight/reach when I am working on something. I am looking forward to less distraction in 2024! 😊
|
|
New Laws Take Effect January 1
On January 1, 2024, several new laws that passed last session will take effect. These include:
-
Earned Sick and Safe Time. This program is in addition to the Paid Medical and Family Leave bill that also passed last session and takes effect next year. This new law requires all employers to offer paid time off to all employees (even seasonal and part-time), and it applies to any employers with one or more employees, including cities, schools, fire and police departments – many of whom are already covered by collective bargaining agreements. I get many questions from constituents, business owners and local governments about how employers are supposed to track employees’ accrual and use of these benefits and how it works with their existing leave policies. The Department of Labor and Industry has put together an FAQ page for any job creators who still have questions about this new law.
-
Gas Tax Indexed to Inflation. Minnesota's gas tax will be tied to inflation starting in the new year. The expected tax hike is 5 cents over four years – a $423 million increase in total!
-
Real-Time Driver's Exam Appointment Availability. The Public Safety Department will be required to provide real-time information about the location and availability of driver's exam appointments. People will be able to enter their address to find out the availability of exam stations closest to them.
-
Specialty License Plates Available. For one of the more fun things that passed last session, you will be able to show your support for Minnesota’s six professional sports teams with your license plate. Options include the Vikings, Wild, Twins, Timberwolves, Lynx, and United.
You can learn about other laws that will take effect in the new year here.
2023 has taught us that we need more balance in state government. One-party control has not served the people of Minnesota well.
Despite a historic $17.5 billion surplus, Democrats raised taxes on hardworking Minnesotans by nearly $10 billion to pay for their spending spree which grew government by 38%. The recent November forecast showed that this reckless spending will lead to deficits by the next biennium.
We had an opportunity to use the surplus to help families by providing tax relief last session, which would have let Minnesotans keep more of their own money to help offset the rising costs of gas, groceries and other essentials.
Instead of returning the surplus, however, the DFL Majority raised the gas tax, the sales tax, license tab fees, and the motor vehicle sales tax, and they created a new delivery tax – all of which hurts families and seniors trying to make ends meet.
I look forward to continuing to fight for you and your family next session and will keep looking for ways to work with the Majority to make our state a better place for everyone. I hope you will continue to reach out and make your voices heard at the State Capitol!
|
|
Photos
Fun traditions in Loretto when the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train stopped for a great concert with MacKenzie Porter & Dallas Smith! Such a fun community event with holiday characters, hot cocoa, and a warm bonfire - all to raise money for local food shelves! Love celebrating the season in our communities!
Grateful for another great ride-along with Corcoran Police Department! I enjoyed the conversation & seeing all of the ways they serve our community. From traditional police work, to playing tag with neighborhood kids, to rounding up goats and horses, they do what it takes to protect & serve!
|
|
Please Contact Me
Many of you have already been in touch to discuss your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you. Thank you for sharing your ideas! Please continue to contact me to discuss any matters to which I can be of assistance.
The best way to reach me while we are out of session is by email: rep.kristin.robbins@house.mn.gov. For occasional updates, you can follow my Facebook Page at @RepKristinRobbins. You can also leave a voicemail on my office number, 651-296-7806, which is checked multiple times/week.
Have a great weekend!
Kristin
|
|
239 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.7806 |
|
|
|
|
