Legislative Update: Your Session Priorities

Dear Neighbors, 

I hope the start of the new year is treating you and yours well. The 2022 Legislative Session is right around the corner - starting on January 31 - and I want to hear from you. Our work in the Minnesota House is at its best when it’s open and responsive to your needs, so I hope you’ll take advantage of one of the several ways to have your voice be heard. 

This Thursday, January 20 at 6:30pm, I’ll be joining Sen. Dziedzic and Rep. Jordan for a District 60 virtual town hall. We’ll be hosting the event on Zoom, and you can RSVP to receive login information here. You can also mark your calendars for our next town hall on Saturday, February 5.

Regardless of whether you’re able to join us for a town hall, I would also greatly appreciate it if you took a moment to complete this brief legislative survey. Lastly, always feel free to reach out to me with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have about our legislative work. 

Redistricting 

The Legislature has a deadline of February 15 to enact new congressional and legislative district maps following the 2020 census to reflect changes in population. The House and Senate have both developed proposals, as have other interested parties. The House released their maps on November 19 and the Senate released their maps on January 7.

In preparation for the possibility lawmakers can’t reach an agreement, a special judicial panel has been appointed and it recently concluded a series of public hearings spanning several months. Last week, the panel listened to arguments from representatives of several groups and communities. MinnPost has a fairly comprehensive summary of the process and some of the cases advocates are making. Stay tuned for more updates on this important issue this session. 

Nurses Needed

The pandemic has stretched our health care system to the max and has highlighted a significant worker shortage. If you’re interested in exploring a career in health care, free training is available to become a Certified Nursing Assistant through the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.

CareerForce has other resources available as well including job openings, tips, and other valuable information.

Stay Connected

Some final things to notify you about include the new opportunity to order free at-home COVID-19 tests. Residential households in the U.S. can order one set of 4 free at-home tests from USPS.com. Here’s what you need to know about your order:

• Limit of one order per residential address
• One order includes 4 individual rapid antigen COVID-19 tests
• Orders will ship free starting in late January

You can find more information and order tests here. 

There is also one other important town hall this week, and that’s our United Black Legislative Caucus’ (UBLC) town hall, which will be focused on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Black communities. We’ll be holding the event on Zoom this Saturday at 1:00pm, and you can find the login information below and more information here.

Things are ramping up for our legislative work. Throughout the session, please feel free to reach out to me at rep.mohamud.noor@house.mn. With our work continuing to be done remotely this session, email is the best way to connect with me. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Sincerely, 

Mohamud Noor

State Representative