We continue long days on the House Floor, with debate stretching after midnight most evenings. We are passing legislation to improve the lives of working and middle class families across Minnesota. Some of the votes are bipartisan, some break on party lines. What I am proud of is the work that has been done in committee to take changes and suggestions from members on both sides of the aisle.
The House continues to debate and pass supplemental budget and policy bills on the floor, covering important issues such as education, labor, housing, the environment, and more. As a member of the House Taxes and Ways and Means Committees, I’ve been balancing early morning committee meetings with late night floor sessions. I haven’t gotten this little sleep since our kids were young. But the work is meaningful, rewarding, and will keep Minnesota moving forward.
Once we have passed all the budget bills off the House floor, and the Senate passes their versions of the bills, folks will be spending time in conference committee ironing out the differences. Those conference committees will then send one version out and to the House and Senate floors for an up or down vote. You cannot amend the conference committee report. Once they pass the respective floors, they go to the Governor’s desk for his signature.
On Monday, the House passed the 2024 Legacy Budget bill with broad bipartisan support on a vote of 118-13. The bill invests nearly $240 million in Minnesota’s outdoor heritage, clean water, parks and trails, and arts and culture from the Legacy Amendment fund. Middle-class
On Tuesday, I joined Education Finance Vice Chair Clardy, Education Policy Chair Pryor, Rep. Edelson, Rep. Sencer-Mura, and Rep. Bianca Virnig at a press conference to announce our intent to pass the K-12 Education bill. You can watch the press conference here and see the coverage of the press conference here and here. The K-12 Education Finance supplemental budget bill builds on our investments last year by increasing funds and flexibility to the Read Act, gets more teachers in our schools, keeps more students in the classrooms, and brings student voices to the table. If you want to take a deep dive into the bill, the House non-partisan summary is here.
The rest of the week, the House passed:
An Environment and Natural Resources bill with new investments in tree planting, improving air quality, holding repeat polluters accountable, and tackling solid waste and recycling.
A Children and Families bill that reforms our child protection system and builds on historic investments in economic support for families, food security, and emergency shelter.
A Transportation, Labor, and Housing bill that invests in railroad safety and public transit, enhances worker rights and safety, improves housing stability for renters and seniors, and funds homelessness prevention.
We passed a Pensions and Retirement bill with bipartisan support, which prioritizes educators’ retirement security, improves our pension systems’ health, and strengthens the benefits retirees can expect.
On Friday, we started House floor session at 12:30 pm after an early morning Ways & Means Committee. We will work into the early morning hours, but as I write this, we have passed the Tax bill, the Jobs and Economic Development, and started the Higher Education bill and the Elections bill.
In the next update, I will fill you in on the details of those bills as well as the rest we will be passing off of the House floor before we head into conference committees.
Gun Violence Prevention Measures Advance
Last year, DFLers took long overdue action to save lives and prioritize Minnesotans’ public safety by enacting criminal background checks and “red flag” laws. We’re building on the work we delivered last year and this week, the House passed the following measures:
HF 601 – Requires lost or stolen firearms to be reported promptly to law enforcement. Lost and stolen guns are often used in crimes or end up in the hands of those who may cause harm to themselves or others. This bill will assist in the recovery of guns and help prevent gun trafficking, so weapons don’t end up in the hands of those ineligible to possess them.
HF 4300 – Requires guns to be stored safely. Heartbreakingly, gun violence is the leading cause of death among children. This is an important step to prevent access by children and help stop tragic accidents.
HF 2609 – This bill has two components. First, it improves Minnesota’s law prohibiting the straw purchase of guns, which occurs when an individual buys a firearm for someone ineligible to have one. The bill increases penalties for straw purchasing and expands the circumstances under which the crime can be prosecuted. Second, the bill bans so-called “binary triggers” which modify guns to more closely mimic fully automatic weapons. The shooter used one of these devices during the February tragedy that occurred in Burnsville, and these weapons have no place in our communities.
Visits to the Capitol
When the legislative session ends on May 20, we will be moving out of the State Office Building and across the way to the Centennial Building. Many of you have visited me at the Capitol and have seen the beautiful work of art (Las Mujeres) that I have been hosting from the artist Jimmy Longoria. Friday morning, Jimmy came to pick up the painting while we are in our two-year temporary offices. A huge thank you to Jimmy Longoria for letting me enjoy this incredible piece of art for the last 10 years! You can see more of Jimmy’s artwork here.
On Friday morning, Edina student athletes visited the Capitol to celebrate their championship wins. Rep. Heather Edelson arranged to have the teams come and receive a legislative resolution to honor their achievements. Unfortunately, I was unable to join in the festivities because I was in the Ways & Means Committee. Congratulations to these student athletes from these Edina teams: Girls’ Hockey, Boys’ Hockey, Girls’ Soccer, Girls’ Swim & Dive, Debate Team, and Robotics Team. Your perseverance and hard work paid off!
Keep in Touch
Please continue to contact me anytime at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889. Email is the best way to get in touch with these long days on the House Floor.
It’s an honor to represent our Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Edina neighbors in St. Paul.
St. Paul, Minn.— This evening, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed HF 5237, the K-12 Education Supplemental budget, on a 68-61 vote.
“Minnesotans want to make sure our schools have the funding to meet their students’ needs,” said Rep. Cheryl Youakim (DFL-Hopkins), chair of the House Education Finance Committee. “That’s why we are continuing the investment in our public schools that we made last year. Once again we invest in the Read Act, put more teachers in our schools, keep more students in our classrooms, and make sure our students have a seat at the decision-making table.”
HF 5237 builds on the legislature’s historic investments last year by adding $37 million in new Read Act funding and providing districts with increased flexibility in using the $35 million of last year’s Read Act appropriations.
“All students deserve a world-class education and an opportunity to succeed,” said Rep. Mary Frances Clardy (DFL-Inver Grove Heights), vice chair of the House Education Finance Committee. “That’s why House DFLers are delivering investments to improve school readiness and critical skills like reading to foster an environment where all kids can learn, grow, and thrive.”
It expands Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten programs by 5,200 seats beginning in 2025 (one year ahead of the schedule set in last year’s budget) and establishes working groups to ensure that special education and English learner funds (which both saw significant increases of approximately $1.8 billion in funding over the next four years in last year’s bill) are being used in alignment with best practices.
The K-12 Education Supplemental Budget includes multiple provisions to ensure that teachers and paraprofessionals have the training they need to meet student needs, including a pilot program to pay student teachers. It also includes multiple provisions to address the growing rate of student absenteeism. Finally, the bill provides students uniform baseline information in their curriculum about their physical and mental health as a state standard so they can adopt and maintain healthy behaviors throughout life.
Members got back to work after a Passover break this week. House business began on Wednesday, when committees convened and members gathered for a floor session to continue passing policy bills off the floor. These included:
SF 4579 (Hollins)/HF 4558 – Single and Sub-Metered Utility Service
HF 4661 (Wolgamott)/SF 4745 – Workers Comp Advisory Council Recommendations
House and Senate conference committees also ramped up their work and the House Ways and Means Committee, which I sit on, began to hear the different committees’ budget bills. Our House K-12 Education Finance supplemental budget bill was heard at its final committee stop on Thursday. Ways and Means will continue their work next week as they merge bills together to better align them with their Senate counterparts and we move onto floor passage of budget bills. You can find the live streaming schedule of these conference committees and watch online here.
Next week,our work will mostly shift to the House Floor to continue passing legislation, including our K-12 Education Finance supplemental budget bill. Then onto the next phase of session, conference committee where the difference between the House and Senate bills are worked on. There are 16 more days left of the legislative session and they will be full of very long hours. The last day that we can pass bills off of the House floor is midnight on Sunday, May 19.
Schools For Equity in Education
Today Rep. Mary Frances Clardy and I spoke to the education organization Schools for Equity in Education. They are administrators and school board members from 52 school districts throughout the state who come together to advocate on education issues. Among those issues is that every child should receive a high-quality education no matter their zip code. We discussed the House Education Finance bill that will be on the floor next week, fielded questions, and heard many thank yous.
Arbor Day Celebration
Today, April 26th is Arbor Day, and DFLers are taking action to protect our environment and honor trees’ vital role in our ecosystem. This year we are investing millions in tree planting grants for communities around our state.
Keep in Touch
Please continue to contact me anytime at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889 with questions, input, or ideas. Email is the quickest way to get in touch!
Thank you for the honor of representing our Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Edina neighbors at the State Capitol.
April showers bring May flowers! Our heavy rain earlier this week didn’t damper our progress in St. Paul, growing the middle class and helping Minnesota families thrive. The final budget deadline is today and committees wrapped up their work this week. We will now transition to spending more time on the floor debating the various supplemental budget bills. The Ways & Means Committee, on which I serve, sees all of these bills before they move to the floor. So, I will be spending the next two weeks getting a preview of the floor sessions to come. The Capital Investment Committee does not have a set deadline, so they are continuing the work of putting the bonding bill together.
Committee Action
This week, committees are vetting and passing supplemental budget bills to their final stop in the Ways and Means Committee before they go to the House Floor. I’m excited to share that we advanced the Education Finance Supplemental Budget bill (HF5237) out of our committee on Wednesday after a very robust discussion. The bill then made a brief stop in Taxes on Friday, because of levy interactions. And, now it is on it’s way to the Ways & Means Committee before going to the House floor. You can see some of the details in the non-partisan staff summary and the spreadsheet.
Floor Action
On Monday, the House passed SF 2904/HF 2774, the 2024 Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Lands bill. The policy package includes nation-leading legislation modernizing statutes on native rough fish, and expanding opportunities to protect native prairies. It also includes funds to prepare Minnesotans for a new Electronic Licensing System, including a mobile phone app, for issuing angling and hunting licenses, visitor permits, and outdoor recreation vehicle registrations.
Also on Monday, we passed the Commerce policy bill, which focuses on consumer and child protections, debt reform, net neutrality, and more. The HHS policy bill passed as well, and includes important provisions such as guaranteeing people with disabilities get to stay in their communities while they live in group homes, modernizing deaf and hard-of-hearing statutues, and ensuring opioid treatment programs are responsive to workforce shortages and availability of counselors.
Last year, DFLers legalized adult-use cannabis, along with the possession and growing of cannabis plants for personal, recreational use. However, buying cannabis legally at a licensed retail business in the state is not set to begin until early next year. The Cannabis Policy bill we passed yesterday is meant to expedite the process of setting up a good, legitimate marketplace for cannabis to displace that illicit marketplace that’s in place currently. You can read more about what the bill contains here.
We also passed a strong Tenant’s Rights Policy Bill, which includes provisions to safeguard tenants’ right to organize, protect tenant survivors of domestic violence, clarify tenant’s rights to emergency services, prohibit rental discrimination based on public assistance, and more. Hopkins has many rental units, so this bill holds particular importance for residents in our district. More details in the bill are included here.
Connected to Community
As always, my favorite part about this work is connecting with the people I represent in Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Edina. This week, I had a chance to meet with constituents from Moms Demand Action and the Educational Partnership Coalition which included Children’s First from St. Louis Park). Rep. Mary Frances Clardy (Vice Chair of Education Finance) and I also met with the Minnesota Association of Secondary Principals to discuss some of the items in the House Education bill.
Moms Demand Action
Educational Partnership Coalition
Minnesota Association of Secondary Principals
Free Park Day
Get your hiking boots ready — Saturday, April 27 is the next free entrance day to all Minnesota parks! Minnesota state parks are open year-round, and there’s a state park within 30 miles of most Minnesotans. With a free day in each season, it’s a great opportunity to get out there and explore someplace new! Whether you stay for the whole weekend or just spend a few hours outside, you’ll make memories that will last a lifetime. So be sure to get out and visit our wonderful parks!
Keep in Touch
Please continue to contact me anytime with questions, input, ideas, or to let me know how I can be of assistance at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889. Email is the quickest way to get in touch.
Thank you for the honor of representing you and your family in the Minnesota House.
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.
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