Legislative Update Dear neighbors, It’s been another crazy week representing you in St. Paul. As I’ve said in the past, being in a tied environment in the state house – there is no shortage of ideas… good and bad. One bill right off the bat I wanted to highlight that came through Education Finance was HF3490. The federal government created a tax-credit scholarship program that states can choose to participate in. If a state opts in, taxpayers can donate money to approved scholarship-granting organizations, receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit ($1,700), and then that money goes to STUDENTS - in private and public schools. Essentially, it creates a unique way for schools to get funding without raising property taxes. A number of other states opted into this program – including Colorado and Virginia. In a time where public schools are having to cut staff and teachers, and our community is stretched with rising property taxes – this seemed like a great solution. It essentially died in committee. You can see my thoughts on that by clicking the video link below: https://youtu.be/oA-UEaYT0ZI I also sit on the Commerce Committee, and the theme there this week has been the rising cost of insurance for families. We have to do everything we can to bring the costs in insurance down – as premiums and deductibles continue to rise at unsustainable rates. The biggest reason for this is a lack of flexibility in plans to choose, new mandates imposed for basic insurance coverage, and general inflation. I had a great conversation with colleagues from across the political spectrum and stakeholders like the Minnesota Council of Health Plans. We need to reimagine how we’re doing this and get creative on solving this problem. My Democrat colleagues think it’s Single Payer Healthcare; I disagree with this vehemently as the right solution. Regardless, I’m going to make it my mission to come up with solutions to create more affordability for families. Stay tuned. One more thing… I’ve gotten this question quite a bit recently: “how do I know what’s being heard at the Capitol?” If you’re every curious about what’s going on in these hearings or what bills are being heard – the MN House Info YouTube channel is a great resource: https://www.youtube.com/@MNHouseInfo Meeting with constituents is my favorite part of this job. On Monday, I met with North Branch High School Principal Clint Link and Assistant Principal Jacob Truby to discuss the number of technical education initiatives they’re taking on in North Branch. As long as I’m in this role as Representative, I’ll do everything I can within our public, private, and home schools to support technical education. AI has become a big conversation, and we have to build a generation with skills that are hard to replace. Let me know if you have any ideas! Speaking of North Branch, Superintendent Sara Paul joined us at the capitol to testify – alongside some talented students – about making sure Greater Minnesota schools have the same resources as metro schools.  I also had the privilege of meeting the local team at Family Pathways. They’re doing such important work in our area, providing shelter for those experiencing domestic abuse. Our family had been to one of their thrift stores in the past, but the value they bring to our community was eye opening.  Wyoming’s Brett Ohnstad also paid us a visit at the Capitol on behalf of the Teamsters union. We had good conversations about protecting correctional officers and other initiatives their union is working on. I’m always open to ideas and solutions to help protect and uplift law enforcement.  As always, don’t hesitate to reach out with your comments, questions, and concerns. The end of session is going to be here before we know it – and I want to make sure I’m representing you to the best of my ability! It’s such a privilege to serve our Chisago County community in St. Paul. Representative Max Rymer House District 28B Serving Center City, Chisago City, Chisago Lake, Fraconia Twp, Lent Twp, Lindstrom, North Branch, Schafer, Stacy, Sunrise Twp, Taylors Falls and Wyoming. |