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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Sondra Erickson (R)

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Legislative Update from Rep. Sondra Erickson

Friday, March 16, 2018

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

This week, the House took an important step toward addressing the MNLARS debacle with the passage of House File 3147 out of the House Ways and Means Committee. This committee is the last stop for legislation before it reaches the House floor. HF 3147 appropriates the $10 million in emergency funding that the department is requesting for fixes to the system to proceed.

The funding is being taken from the driver services and vehicle services operating accounts to go towards the fixes for MNLARS. The Governor would then have to reduce agency budgets by $10 million and use that money to backfill the driver services and vehicle services operating account.

The bill also gives the legislature tools to track progress being made on the project and ensures that the $10 million is spent only on the improvements specified by the department.

Stay tuned for more information on this in the coming weeks.

It was a busy week in the Education Innovation Policy Committee as we heard a number of bills related to improving the educational experience for Minnesota’s youth. Here is a brief recap of a few pieces of legislation that were before committee.

  • HF 3178—Authored by Rep. Roz Peterson, this legislation requires the commissioner of education to implement a school report card that would have a star rating and academic achievement score for each school and school district and would calculate proficiency and growth rates. This is intended to ensure that parents have as much information as possible when making a decision regarding their children’s educational opportunities.
  • HF 2788—Rep. Bob Dettmer is the chief-author of this legislation that includes a variety of provisions to ensure that high school students are fully informed of the full range of military career options offered by the United States Armed Forces.
  • HF 1507—Rep. Eric Lucero presented a bill in committee that works to improve data privacy protections for students.

That’s all for this week’s update. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns regarding a matter related to state government. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-6746 or via email at rep.sondra.erickson@house.mn.

Have a great weekend,

Sondra