I hope you are having a great week and enjoying the sunshine and what is starting to feel like a true Minnesota spring.
On Tuesday this week, the legislature gaveled back in from the brief legislative recess to observe Easter. In the House Education Finance Committee, I presented HF 5237, the Governor’s K-12 Education Finance bill for the 2024 legislative session. This bill contains a one-time funding increase for the Professional Educators Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) for technology costs, expands voluntary prekindergarten (VPK) programming in 2025, makes technical and clarifying changes to last year’s laws, and adds an administrative set aside on Head Start funding.
It is customary for the Chair of a Committee to introduce the Governor and Lieutenant Governor’s bill proposal and then present it to the committee for discussion. Now that we have committee targets, our House Education Finance Committee will start to put together the final House Education Finance bill from the bill proposals we heard in committee. Our budget target is $43 million in one-time investments from the supplemental budget, which means that we will be looking at proposals that do not have ongoing funding.
On Thursday, the House began passing policy bill packages in major issue areas. These bills build on the work of our historically productive 2023 session that focused on improving the lives of Minnesotans. The House passed two policy bills supporting our Departments of Military Affairs and Veterans Affairs, which passed with unanimous support!
We passed a higher education policy bill that includes the clean energy sector in our Workforce Development Scholarship Program and expands support in higher education for students who have a disability. We also passed an early education policy bill focused on strengthening our pre-kindergarten and school readiness programs. Finally, we passed a transportation policy package that improves road safety, DVS wait times, child passenger safety, and consumer protections.
Photo courtesy of the Minnesota House of Representatives Photography
Transgender Day of Visibility
We recognized Transgender Day of Visibility at the end of March. I’m proud that Minnesota is a state that accepts all people for who they are. I will always fight to make Minnesota a safe and welcoming state where everyone can live as their authentic self.
Connected to Community
While we have been spending long hours in committee and on the floor, there was still time to meet with a few constituent groups that were here at the Capitol this week. Meeting and speaking with constituents from our community is the best part of this job. This week, I was grateful to have had the chance to meet with folks from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Housing First Minnesota, and the Karen Organization of Minnesota.
The Karen Organization of Minnesota
AFSCME
Keep in Touch
Please continue to reach out anytime with input, questions, or to let me know how I can provide assistance. I can be reached at 651-296-9889 or rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov. Email is the quickest way to get in touch.
Thank you for the honor of serving our Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Edina neighbors at the Capitol.
Dear Neighbors, I hope you’re having a great week! With week five in the books of the legislative session, the policy deadline is around the corner. By Friday March 22, a bill that originates in a policy committee must be passed through each committee that has jurisdiction and move to either the floor or to a finance committee when the bill also includes a cost. By April 14, all bills in a finance committee must make their way to the Ways & Means Committee. House and Senate leadership are working on budget targets along with the executive branch. We hope to have those soon so that our finance committees can finalize their work.
A big thank you to all of the District 46 constituents who attended our Town Hall Meeting in St. Louis Park on Tuesday. We covered several topics and had a lot of great questions. Your input is the foundation of our work in St. Paul and I appreciate your input and suggestions. If you couldn’t make it, you’re welcome to watch a recording of the meeting here.
Here’s an update from the Capitol:
With the policy deadline around the corner, this week has been extremely busy and we can anticipate many late night committees next week to wrap up legislation. The House Bonding bill will continue to take shape and will likely be the last item we get across the finish line before our constitutionally required date to adjourn on May 20.
On Monday this week, the Minnesota House passed bipartisan legislation to combat price gouging, specifically for services utilized by a community after damaging storms. Minnesota’s most costly disaster year to date, 2022, had over $6 billion in damage. There was also over $3 billion of damage in 2017 and 2023 as more extreme weather events happen more often. The increased frequency of damaging weather events provides more opportunities for bad actors to drastically price gouge when cleaning up after a weather event, and DFLers are taking action to combat this immoral and costly practice.
On Thursday, the House approved my bill to adjust state K-12 forecasted funded programs to match the updated February 2024 budget forecast. The biggest changes in this bill are related to the overwhelming popularity of universal school breakfast and lunch programs, which DFLers enacted in 2023. Participation in the universal school meals program surpassed the initially anticipated increase by more than 20% and breakfast participation was an even larger increase. We made bold investments in our students last year, and the need for this bill speaks volumes to the successes we’re already seeing with implementation. We are committed to continuing meeting these basic needs of students so they can thrive in and out of the classroom.
Committee Action
A huge thank you to the media advisors and student journalists who testified in the House Education Policy on legislation I’ve been carrying for several years. The bipartisan New Voices bill allows students the freedom to express themselves and hone their critical thinking skill without the fear of censorship. It is more important than ever before for our students to learn media literacy and communication skills that they can carry with them in whatever path they take after high school.
Student Journalists and Media Advisors testify for the New Voices bill.
This week, I also had two other bills heard. One that would provide increased funding for our intermediate and cooperative schools who take care of some of our most vulnerable students (HF4333). This would enable cost savings for the home districts they collaborate with. It was brought to me by Intermediate District 287 which serves Hopkins, Edina, and St. Louis park along with nine other school districts in the west metro.
Superintendent Marcy Daud, Intermediate District 287
The other bill is for Hopkins Vail Place that has served folks living with mental illness in the west metro region for 40 years. Vail Place provides access to critical needs like housing, mental health support, and job training funded by federal, county, and state dollars. Vail Place is also a clubhouse model that provides a place where those with mental illness can grow in community in a space to call their own. Members run the clubhouse which provides space to build job skills, cook meals together, and join in activities with their peers. HF4514 provides one-time money to enable demonstration projects in three different clubhouse locations. There is also one-time money to have the Department of Health use the data from the demonstration models to create a Medical Assistant reimbursement for the service provided. The cost to provide clubhouse services to one person for an entire year equals a three day stay in a critical care psychiatric bed. This is a program that provides efficient and effective intervention and prevention services.
Vail Place partners testify on a bill to expand the clubhouse model.
Federal Assistance for Small Businesses Affected by Warm Winter
Our “winter” this year has been unseasonably warm. While many of us have enjoyed foregoing winter jackets this year, the low precipitation we’ve experienced this winter has had a real economic impact on small businesses that rely on snow and winter tourism. Federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available due to the ongoing federal drought declarations affecting 81 Minnesota counties. Small business owners should apply here for assistance as soon as possible.
Connected to Community
This week, I had the opportunity to meet with Superintendents from Grand Rapids, Princeton, and our very own St. Loius Park. I also met with constituents advocating on behalf of different organizations at the Capitol including: affordable housing, Hunger Solutions/Second Harvest, Physical Therapists, MN Land Title Association, and MN Bike Alliance.
Affordable Housing Day with Bring it Home
Hunger Solutions/Second Harvest
MN Bike Alliance
Physical Therapist Day
MN Land Title Association
Friday, I started the day visiting students at the Junior Achievement North and ended the day taking a tour of the newly opened Rise Early learning Center in St. Louis Park. I was grateful to see firsthand the good work both of these organizations are doing for the learners in our communities. And of course, I forgot to take pictures when I toured Rise Early Learning because it was too much fun watching the kids play and explore in their incredible classrooms and the outside space.
Students finish in the classroom experience with a day at Junior Achievement North’s St. Paul site, with financial literacy hands-on learning experience in a town center model.
Keep in Touch
Please continue to keep in touch at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889 with questions or ideas. I appreciate hearing from you!
On Monday, May 20, the 93rd Minnesota Legislature concluded a two-year session that made meaningful progress with a host of accomplishments that will benefit our state and our communities of Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Edina for generations to come. The Senate District 46 team will be doing a deep dive with a Session Wrap-Up Town Hall Meeting on June 12th at 6:30 p.m. in the St. Louis Park City Council Chambers. I hope you’ll be able to join us!
Minnesota has long been considered the “education state,” but decades of chronic underfunding have made it hard for our schools to meet our students’ growing needs. I’m proud to have worked as the House Education Finance Committee Chair to strengthen opportunities for our students with historic investments in public schools, universal school meals, funding targeted at improving literacy through the READ Act, and resources for school counselors, social workers, psychologists, and nurses. In last year’s K-12 Education bill, we created more pathways to career training in our high schools and in the Higher Education bill, we increased access to college with the North Star Promise that guarantees free tuition for students from families earning less than $80,000 annually.
In order to ensure an economy that works for everyone, Democrats delivered numerous wins for workers, families, and seniors to help them achieve economic security. The Child Tax Credit is projected to cut childhood poverty by one-third. To help seniors keep more money in their pockets, we eliminated taxes on Social Security income for 75% of Minnesota seniors. In response to rising costs, we delivered property tax cuts and improved our renters credit program.
Record investments in housing will help everyone have a place to call home. We delivered new resources for early care and learning, food security, and child welfare. We reduced health care costs, including a cap on co-pays for prescription drugs to treat diabetes, asthma, and allergies at $25 for one month’s supply. Democrats also enacted many protections from big pharma, big tech, big insurance companies, and predatory lenders. Increases in Local Government Aid and County Program Aid will help keep property taxes down while ensuring Minnesotans can count on vital public services like roads, water, parks, and public safety.
Everyone deserves to live in communities that are safe, welcoming, and inclusive. For decades, Minnesotans have been advocating for common-sense gun violence prevention measures, and House DFLers got the job done by enacting criminal background checks, red flag laws, increasing penalties for straw purchasers, and banning devices that turn semi-automatic guns into fully automatic weapons of war. We legalized adult-use cannabis and made medical marijuana more accessible. Additionally, Democrats supported the work of law enforcement through local public safety aid, delivered resources for crime victims, and supported the needs of the judicial branch so everyone has access to justice.
After the Dobbs court decision, Democrats quickly went to work establishing landmark reproductive freedoms. As other states become more hostile to LGBTQ+ people, we banned “conversion therapy” and made Minnesota an even more welcoming state. To boost community vitality, last session we enacted a record public infrastructure bill and made long-term investments in roads, bridges, and transit. We also strengthened opportunities for our undocumented neighbors through Drivers Licenses for All and an expansion of MinnesotaCare eligibility. With the right to vote under attack, DFLers advanced solutions including the Democracy for the People Act, Restore the Vote legislation, pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds, and the Minnesota Voting Rights Act.
In Minnesota, we value hard work, and workers expect fair compensation with family-sustaining benefits. After years of effort in the face of powerful special interests, Democrats successfully delivered Paid Family & Medical Leave and Earned Sick & Safe Time. We enacted overdue safety protections at workplaces including warehouses, nursing homes, oil refineries, and meatpacking plants. We also enhanced our efforts to combat wage theft which too often exploits vulnerable workers.
Minnesotans value our environment and treasured natural resources and are concerned about the threat of climate change. We led the way in enacting a 100% carbon-free energy goal, worked to enhance our electric grid, and invested in rebate programs including for electric vehicles and home energy. After listening to the heartbreaking stories of impacted Minnesotans we took steps to ban cancer-causing PFAS forever chemicals, and funded lead pipe replacement. Finally, to leave Minnesota a better place for the next generation we delivered investments in tree planting, improved air quality, clean drinking water, reducing packaging waste, and environmental justice.
During the last week of session, we were working many late evenings. I would like to give a shout-out to our incredible House staff. From our DFL researchers and committee staff to our non-partisan committee staff and front desk staff, there were many nights that they got even less sleep than we did. They are the true unsung heroes of the Minnesota House.
While we had many successes during the biennium, there were items for our communities that did not make it across the finish line as the tax bill was scaled down and the slimmed down bonding bill did not make it across the finish line. After fourteen hours of debate over three days, the House passed the ERA bill, but the Senate ran out of time to hear the concurrence. I was also disappointed that we did not get a sports betting bill across the finish line. I did vote for it in both the House Tax Committee and the House Ways & Means Committee and would have supported it if we took a vote on the House floor. One bright spot during the final day of session: we were able to pass a bill that will keep Uber and Lyft here while supporting the drivers who make the companies successful.
I fully recognize that there is more to do to build a state that truly works for everyone. Despite the progress we all made together, we know that the challenges Minnesotans are facing can’t be solved in a single biennium. We’re committed to continuing our collaboration with Minnesotans from across our state to ensure everyone has an opportunity to build the better life that they want and deserve.
Our Work Continues
After session, our work continues with follow up emails to constituents, visiting with folks in our communities, and continuing to meet with organizations to work on policy and funding bills for next year. On Monday, we gathered once again on the House floor to say goodbye to colleagues that are retiring. You can see the retirement speeches here. Wednesday, I joined colleagues at a breakfast hosted by the Minneapolis Foundation focused on reimaging education literacy. And on Friday afternoon I visited Movefwd, an organization in Hopkins that helps stabilize young people who are struggling in our communities. I would be happy to meet with your organization or tour your business over the interim. Just reach out at my email below and copy shamat.abraha@house.mn.gov on your request.
Keep in Touch
Please continue to reach out anytime at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889 with questions, input, or ideas. Email will be the quickest and best way to get in touch, especially as we prepare to move offices to the Centennial Building.
Thank you for the honor of serving you in the Minnesota House!
I hope you’re having a great week and enjoying the sunshine. We’ve just wrapped up week four and we’re moving along swiftly and efficiently with the legislative process. Bills are being heard in committee, moving to the floor, or being laid over to be included in part of a bigger package. We have been hearing individual bills on the House floor as well. We received the February forecast this week. These are the numbers that let us know if there will be money to supplement the larger state budget that we set last session. Finance committees now wait for leadership in the House and Senate to meet, along with the Governor’s office, to set those supplemental budget targets our committees may have a chance to spend.
Thank you to all who continue to participate in our Community Conversations! The last Community Conversations in March will be held tomorrow, March 9th in St. Louis Park at 12:30 p.m. Here are the details below:
Our District 46 Team is also hosting a town hall meeting next Tuesday, March 12th at 6:00 p.m. at St. Louis City Hall in the council chambers. As always, this event is free, nonpartisan, and open to all constituents. I hope to see you there!
Here’s an update from the Capitol:
House and Floor Action
On Monday, the Minnesota House passed comprehensive legislation to require a statewide standard of the basic training required for School Resource Officers. To minimize harmful, disparate engagements between SROs and students, the legislation also expressly prohibits SROs from being used to deliver discipline for violation of school policies. As chair of the House Education Finance Committee, I was glad to contribute to the bipartisan work that went into fine tuning this bill because all of our kids deserve to be safe at school.
On Thursday, we passed legislation to fund 101 projects across our state that protect our wildlife, water, air, and soil. We also advanced legislation fine tuning bills dealing with the new Department of Children, Youth, and Families and the Department of Direct Care and Treatment.
Forecast Adjustment to Account for the Popularity of Universal Free Meals
On Wednesday, the Minnesota House Education Finance Committee approved legislation to adjust state formula funded programs to match the updated February 2024 budget forecast. The biggest changes in this bill are related to the overwhelming popularity of universal school breakfast and lunch programs which lawmakers enacted in 2023. Participation in the universal school meals program surpassed the initially anticipated increase by more than 20%. The adjusted forecast bill is on its way to the House Ways & Means Committee and then on to the House floor where I will present it for passage.
Today, USDA Food and Nutrition Service Administrator Cindy Long came to Minnesota to celebrate the 4.3 million more breakfasts and 4.5 million more lunches that were served to Minnesota students last fall than in the same period in 2022.
Committee Work
On Tuesday this week, the House Education Finance committee held a day dedicated to student voices. We heard from several youths in various school districts about the positive impacts of our historic 2023 Education Budget. You can watch a recap of our meeting here. In the Education Committee this week, along with a variety of bills, we also heard an overview of the great work the Career and Technical Education Consortiums are doing across the state to make sure our students have access to career exploration and opportunities to start along the pathways to those careers.
EMT Training/Paramedic Scholarships Available
DFLers are working to address the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) statewide shortage. One of these initiatives that I supported funds a one-time appropriation of $3 million will provide up to 600 scholarships of $5,000 each starting Fall 2024 to be awarded by June 30, 2026. If you or anyone you know might be interested in this opportunity to serve the public and give back to the community, you can find eligibility information here.
Connected to Community
A big thank you to Sergeant Jepson with the Edina Police Department for the ride along last Friday night! We spent from 6 p.m. to midnight together and I was very impressed by her professionalism, as well as her commitment to the community of Edina. Thank you for all you do!
Students, School Boards, and Administrators Visit the Capitol
There was a tremendous turnout at the Association of Metropolitan School Districts (AMSD) Day on the Hill! At their morning kick-off meeting, I had a chance to speak with student leaders, school board members, and administrators from across the state to thank them for helping shape public education policy in Minnesota. I was excited to see such a large presence from Edina Schools who brought dozens of students who are part of their Legislative Action Coalition to meet with their legislators. I also had a chance to connect with students, schoolboard members, and Superintendents from Hopkins and St. Louis Park. And finally, a group from the Duluth School District here for Duluth Days.
This week I had the pleasure of meeting with several constituents and organizations representing various advocacy groups, including Rare Disease Council, PACER Center, National Kidney Foundation, Minnesota Association of College Admission Counselors, Carpenters Union, and Minnesota School Social Workers. I also had a chance to catch up with folks here with the City of St. Louis Park and Hopkins to talk City issues. It was quite a busy week!
Keep in Touch
Please continue to reach out 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, St. Louis Park, and Edina neighbors at the State Capitol.
“Children deserve to see themselves reflected in their school environments, whether in their teachers or in the curriculum they are learning from,” said Rep. Youakim. “Last session we made a substantial investment in continuing to ensure more teachers of color are in the classroom, helping current and future generations to thrive.”
Rep. Youakim is being recognized for her unwavering support over the years for the Increase Teachers of Color Act, and for including the proposal in the historic 2023 Education Budget Bill as Chair of the Education Finance Committee.
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