Dear Neighbors,
With summer ending and the next legislative session just around the corner I’d like to recap some of the major accomplishments from this year.
As Chair of the Judiciary Committee, a lot of my time was spent focusing on making our justice system more equitable and protecting Minnesotans’ civil rights. I was also proud to support the long list of historic legislation we passed this year like increased school funding, Paid Family and Medical Leave, free school meals, tax cuts for working families and seniors, gun violence prevention, protecting reproductive and queer rights, and much much more. I will continue to work on the issues that impact our community and stand up for policies that make Minnesota a better place to live for everyone. I know the 2024 session will be just as productive and I can’t wait to get to work for you all!
Please contact me at any time with your input, or if I can be of assistance to you and your family; I appreciate hearing from you and value your perspective.
Supporting our Students and Schools
I helped deliver transformational investments to our education system to support our students and school staff as well as stabilize public school funding. As Minnesotans we take great pride in our public education system, and we honored that by greatly increasing the education funding and tying it to inflation into the future. This will result in more funds for everything our schools need, in every district, helping to ensure that every student receives the quality education they deserve. On top of this we passed free school meals, reduced the special education cross subsidy by half, increased mental health and support staff funding, and increased English language learner funding. I’m proud to say that we truly prioritized education this year!
Justice Reform
I spent a lot of time this year as Chair of the House Judiciary Committee working to reform our justice system so it serves everyone equally. I’m proud to report that we accomplished everything we set out to do, with significant investments in public defense and civil legal services, the creation of an Office of Appellate Counsel, the protection of students’ personal information, and the elimination of court document fees. We focused on reducing systemic inequities in Minnesota’s justice system. The investments we made will improve outcomes for Minnesotans for years to come.
Taking Action to Support our Environment and Climate
I believe that all Minnesotans have a right to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and spend time outdoors - fishing, hunting, enjoying the wild spaces and parks we have in our state. This year we passed historic legislation that meaningfully addresses climate change and will protect our environment for future generations.. Here are some of our greatest environmental wins this session:
- Climate and Energy
- Setting a 100% renewable standard
- Creating clean energy jobs
- Unlocking federal clean energy projects
- Supporting solar and storage technologies
- Expanding weatherization to save energy costs
- Supporting electric vehicle infrastructure
- Environment and Natural Resources
- Banning harmful PFAS chemicals in products
- Preserving and enhancing our natural resources
- Protecting pollinators from pesticides
- Replanting trees killed by emerald ash borer
- Comprehensive chronic wasting disease response to protect our wild deer herd
- Protecting communities from air pollution
Stay in Touch
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can be of assistance or if you have questions or feedback that you’d like to share. You can reach me by email at rep.jamie.becker-finn@house.mn.gov or by phone at 651-296-7153.
Sincerely,
Jamie Becker-Finn
State Representative