 Dear Neighbors, I hope this finds you well, despite our April snow showers! Like our work at the legislature, I’m optimistic about a season of renewal, regrowth, and brighter days ahead. This week was packed with budget bills and lots of long days and evenings. Building on last week’s success, so far we’ve approved our Higher Education, Legacy, Environment and Clean Energy, Housing, Veterans, Elections, State and Local Government, Agriculture, Transportation, and Early Childhood budget bills. As the chair of the House Education Finance Committee, it’s been an honor to help assemble and craft our E-12 education budget; one that is student-centered and meets our children where they are at. Here’s a look at the major highlights:  I’m excited to share that we've passed these historic investments and I’d like to thank all my colleagues who supported this bipartisan, strong measure to ensure our kids can thrive, no matter where they live or what they look like. A big thank you to the amazing folks from our House Education Finance and Policy teams!  The Governor’s State of the StateOn Wednesday night, I had the chance to attend this year’s State of the State with my husband and many of my colleagues in the House and the Senate. Since his second inauguration, Governor Walz has signed bills that codify reproductive rights, provide breakfast and lunch to all students, commit Minnesota to 100% renewable energy by 2040, make Juneteenth a state holiday, ban natural hair discrimination, restore voting rights for thousands, make driver’s licenses available for all, and invest over $315 million in infrastructure. Governor Walz also signed an Executive Order to protect access to gender affirming health care. It was an honor to attend and cheer on the great work our productive trifecta has delivered. With the partnership of the DFL House and Senate, Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan are wasting no time getting to work making Minnesota the best state in the nation for kids and investing in our economic future, and I’m proud to be a part of that goal.  Connected to CommunityI was very grateful I could connect with constituents visiting the Capitol during these final bustling weeks of the legislative session. A big thank you to Melanie Lewis from Perfect Piece Sweets Co (Hopkins) and Caitlin Rogers from Next Day Animation (Edina) who visited during Small Business Day at the Capitol! Both were women entrepreneurs asking for investments in Paid Family & Medical Leave - thank you for your advocacy!  Earlier in the week, I had the chance to meet with middle school students from both Hopkins and St. Louis Park during Minnesota Youth Council’s day at the Capitol. Seeing the excitement students have visiting the Capitol and hearing their thoughtful questions, really does help ground me in our work for the State of Minnesota. Keep in TouchWe’ll continue to pass budget bills next week. Slight differences within each version of each bill will be ironed out in House and Senate conference committees. Those committees have been appointed and have already started working to finalize our budget. Please continue to reach out anytime at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889 with questions or to let me know how I can be of assistance. With the fluid nature of session, email is the quickest way to get in touch. Thank you for the honor of representing our Hopkins, Edina, and St. Louis Park residents and families in the Minnesota House. Have a great weekend!  Cheryl Youakim
State Representative |