 Legislative Update from Representative Cheryl YouakimDear Neighbors, I hope you had a chance to enjoy Minnesota’s “false spring” and are ready for round two of snow! I have one last March Community Conversation this Saturday from 10:30 am – Noon at the Hopkins Library before the snow flies. Hope to see you there!  It’s been a busy week at the Capitol. This week, the Minnesota House unanimously passed legislation renaming the Community Solar Garden Program for Speaker Emerita, former Energy Committee Chair, and our friend, Melissa Hortman. Melissa’s work on solar and clean energy helped build Minnesota into a nationwide leader in climate policy, renewable energy, and created thousands of green energy jobs. One of her proudest achievements was the community solar garden program, which helps more people reap the rewards of our clean energy grid. The Melissa Hortman Community Solar Garden Program will stand as a tribute to her legacy as Minnesota’s ‘godmother of solar,’ and I was honored to vote Green on this bill.  In committee this week, we had a full agenda with lots of lively debates. One of these took place in the House Education Finance Committee, of which I am the DFL co-chair. My GOP counterpart held a hearing on a bill that would direct public funding to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGO’s) for education scholarships/vouchers and other educational costs. The bill had little to no oversight of these SGO’s, provides a $1 for $1 credit that is not available to Minnesotans when they currently donate to any other non-profits, and directs money to non-public schools who are not obligated to follow the same state requirements our public schools are. Our Minnesota constitution requires us to fund our public schools where 880,000 students (90%) attend. Currently, our public schools our asking us for increased investments in a variety of areas from student mental health to special education funding. This proposal does not provide any of that. Yet that did not stop my House GOP colleagues from holding a press conference where they stated that they would not allow any K-12 funding to pass out of committee unless the Governor opts into the federal school voucher bill. You can read more about the legislation and the topic by clicking on this Minnesota Public Radio article link. In the Taxes Committee, we heard a bipartisan bill I’m authoring to expand income tax exemption for AmeriCorps Volunteers. Currently, state law allows an income tax subtraction only for educational service awards earned through AmeriCorps National Service. HF 3792 would expand that benefit to include stipends and living allowances received by a wider group of volunteers — specifically those serving in AmeriCorps VISTA, the Civilian Community Corps, and AmeriCorps Senior programs. You can watch video of the hearing at this link.  Photo Credit: Andrew VonBank, Minnesota House Photography Connected to CommunityAt the end of last week, Rep. Larry Kraft and I had a chance to meet with Cancer Action Day advocates from our district to learn more about the urgent need for more cancer screening access. Early detection saves lives. Rep. Kraft shared his stash of homemade ice cream with us, as well.  Thank you to St. Louis Park and Edina Superintendents, school board members, and staff that visited the Capitol on Monday to advocate for our students and the supports they need in our schools!  Tuesday I met with an amazing community educator from St. Louis Park, a small but mighty group advocating for accessible health care, and an owner of a day care in St. Paul for child care day. The highlight was connecting with Betsy Holmgren on the need for access to Alzheimer’s treatments! We had a chance to share with each other our personal experiences of family members with Alzheimer’s.  Wednesday I had the chance to meet with a dedicated team from Teach for America. I also connected with some wonderful Adult Basic Education teachers. I finished the day with the amazing Hopkins Councilmember Heidi Garrido at the Capitol advocating for our community.  I started out Thursday speaking at the Children First Breakfast and hearing from their amazing Youth for Change students. I then presented a bill in Taxes to exempt AmeriCorps stipends from income tax. Finally, Rep. Julie Greene and I met with dedicated folks from Moms Demand Action for sensible gun violence prevention before we headed to floor session.  Keep in TouchPlease continue to contact me anytime at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889 with questions or input. Email is the quickest way to get in touch. Stay safe this weekend with the coming snow!  Rep. Cheryl Youakim
46B – Hopkins, Edina, & St. Louis Park |