Dear Neighbors,
Budget Negotiations
As I mentioned last week, we’re negotiating with the Senate to combine our bills in various budget areas. I’m on one of these conference committees, and things have been going very well. The road bump we’re now hitting is Governor Dayton continuing to move the goalposts. We need the governor or his staff to take an active role in the negotiating process. We’re well ahead of schedule, but the lack of engagement from the governor is significantly slowing down the process. The House and Senate want to come to an agreement with the governor, but we need him there to do that.
McKenna’s Law
Yesterday, we unanimously passed a bill to help kids in foster care. The bill - named after 12-year-old McKenna Ahrenholz - ensures that when a child over 10 is in foster care, they’re informed they have a right to an objective lawyer of their own. We heard heartbreaking testimony from McKenna who was abused and neglected, and fought for a year to get her own lawyer. She’s a true inspiration, and is such an incredible young woman. Her work and advocacy will go to help countless Minnesota children facing a similar situation.
Helping Small Business
In Minnesota, we saw a series of fraudulent lawsuits regarding the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). These lawyers would find a minor ADA violation in a small business, and threaten or file a lawsuit just to gain a quick settlement. Many times, the business or organization wasn’t aware of the violation, and intended to fix it but were quickly hit with a lawsuit or a lawsuit threat.
Yesterday we passed a bill to make sure these businesses are ADA-compliant, but also have a reasonable amount of time to become compliant before they’re threatened by lawyers looking to make a quick buck. These “drive-by” lawsuits don’t serve any purpose other than to line the pockets of these few lawyers. I believe most business owners want to be compliant, and if a violation is pointed out, they’ll work to do that. The bill we passed – which has the support of the Minnesota Council of Disabilities – simply gives small business owners an appropriate amount of time to become ADA-compliant and protects them from fraudulent lawsuits.
Please Contact Me
I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to contact me as we negotiate our final bills. I can be a better voice for you if you share your thoughts and opinions. You can contact me by email at rep.peggy.scott@house.mn or call my office at 651-296-4231.
My best,
Peggy