Legislative Update
Dear Neighbors,
State Legislative Activity:
Even though session has been over for a month, the action has not stopped in St. Paul. A common theme from this legislative session was the continued growth of the Minnesota state government budget. The state budget increased by almost 40% in less than 2 years, leading to Minnesota making the news for its lack of processes and oversight. In private practice, when growth happens that quickly we implement processes to ensure effectiveness and efficiency. This is something I am working to address this summer.
Just last week, those involved in the Feeding our Future Scandal were convicted of felony fraud, stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from the Minnesota taxpayer. If you’ll recall, Feeding Our Future was a non-profit meant to address food insecurity among children and their families; something near and dear to me as a food shelf volunteer and board member. Instead of helping Minnesota children and families in need, those at the helm took the money of hardworking Minnesotans to provide for themselves lavish lifestyles. Just a few days ago, more stories of fraud broke, this time with Minnesota Autism Centers.
It’s clear, in a time where every dollar counts, that we need to employ processes that provide much-needed oversight. We all want to help our neighbors, but without checks and balances these abuses will continue. We cannot turn a blind eye and must hold people accountable. The Suburban Solutions Caucus is working to address oversight safeguards for organizations that are funded through the state to ensure they effectively meet their objectives. If they can’t, then we need to fix or discontinue those services until we can get it right.
Backyard Priorities:
I am as committed as ever to serving the people of our district. I had the opportunity to meet with two districts council members this month, Dustin Maddy and Scott Zerby. Both support the work we are doing to find common ground and address the priorities of the district, specifically the work we accomplished to protect clean water, secure funding for highway 7, expand our parks and trails, and protect the rights of our cities.
Thank you Scott and Dustin for the support and your dedication to the community.
I also want to give a shout out to our very own Shane Wickus, who will be representing Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics as part of the Men's Gymnastics Team. Way to go Shane!
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