Dear Neighbors, Please join us for a session-end Town Hall tonight. I look forward to your input about the just completed legislative session. See details below:  The 2023 Legislative Session AdjournsOur historic legislative session ended on time and with transformative investments in Minnesotans. I was proud to be part of the effort to improve our communities and make our state the best place to work, raise a family and recreate. We achieved many of the major goals we set in January. We knew this would be an important session, and we kept our promises to improve the lives of Minnesotans. Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman and Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic outlined our accomplishments in a recent Star Tribune Opinion piece. As always, these major milestones do not happen in a vacuum. They are only achieved when we – all of us – work together with common goals. I thank you for all you did to contribute your ideas and efforts. In a session where people came first, our policies focused on disability services, childcare, education, and infrastructure investments. I serve as Chair of the Human Services Policy Committee, and this budget session we made major investments in the caring professions. Under our budget, Personal Care Attendants (PCAs), Direct Support Professionals (DSPs), Assistive living staff, nursing home staff, loan forgiveness for nurses, and childcare received major funding infusions.  Human Services Finance and Policy Committees members with Speaker Melissa Hortman as she signed the bills’ enrollment – the final stop before Gov. Walz signs the measures into law. The last day of session, the House and Senate both approved the Capital Investment infrastructure bills. This bipartisan package of legislation (HF669 and HF670) invests in jobs and infrastructure projects throughout the state and delivers important and needed projects for our area. I was so proud to vote for this bill which includes funding for the East Metro Public Safety Training Facility, the Harriett Tubman Center East renovation, and the North St. Paul Community Center. You can read more about our budget bills in the nonpartisan Session Daily summaries: Veterans and Military Affairs, Housing, Higher Education, Legacy, Agriculture, Early Education, Public Safety and Judiciary, K-12 Education, Jobs and Labor, Environment and Energy, Commerce, State Government and Elections, Human Services, Taxes, Transportation, and Health, as well as non-budget bills like Capital Investment, Cannabis, and Paid Family and Medical Leave. Stay in TouchDuring the legislative interim, you can subscribe to these occasional legislative updates here, and you can also “like” and follow my official State Representative Facebook page. If you have questions, ideas, or feedback that you would like to share, please do not hesitate to reach out. You can email me at rep.peter.fischer@house.mn or call (651) 296-5363. Sincerely, Peter Fischer State Representative |