Neighbors, The session is picking up with many evening committees being held in preparation for our first committee deadline. Your input is still important in this process. Please take a few minutes to complete my legislative survey. Thank you. This week after the Pensions meeting, I joined representatives from Greater Mankato Leadership Institute on their visit to St. Paul. It is always nice to see so many of our Mankato neighbors and I appreciate the invitation from the Institute and Greater Mankato Growth. My substance use disorder (SUD) legislation was approved in Behavioral Health division with unanimous support. This bill contains provisions related to client support for persons receiving SUD services, and other issues related to SUD services. In the Legislative Commission on Pensions & Retirement – of which I am a member – we heard a bill to benefit Forensics staff. Currently, frontline staff at the Forensic Nursing Home must change pension plans when they move into a lead position, something no other frontline staff at the facility must do. The committee was supportive and I’m hopeful this is included in the end of session pension bill. In the Human Services committee, we continue to hear bills to improve Minnesota’s mental health workforce. This week, we heard more about financial barriers. The cost of tuition can be prohibitive enough but some mental health fields require people to pay for supervision hours before they can be licensed. HF3418 aims to help with these costs. In the Labor committee, we heard from the Minnesota Dept. of Labor and Industry about the need to have MNOSHA conform with national OSHA standards or risk OSHA shutting down our state level program. MNOSHA puts much greater effort into working with Minnesota businesses and if we don’t make these changes and are no longer able to operate this state level program, businesses across the state could see less assistance and costlier fines by the federal OSHA. So far, the republican controlled Senate has had no interest in making these changes. My bill in the Transportation committee to add township representation to the Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP) board was heard and received unanimous bipartisan support. Townships deserve to have a voice at the table. Finally, my bill to make members of the Minnesota National Guard who have more than 12 years of service eligible for reenlistment and commissioning bonuses is scheduled to be heard on the House floor on Monday. Under current law, only service members with less than 12 years of service are eligible for these bonuses. The measure has already passed the Senate and after passage by the House, it will head to the Governor’s desk for his signature. You can watch committee action on the House of Representatives’ YouTube page. HWY 14 Expansion Open House A reminder to attend an open house this Tuesday, March 22nd from 6-8 p.m. at the Courtland Community Center (300 Railroad Street) to learn more about the 2022-2023 Hwy 14 New Ulm to Nicollet four-lane expansion project. Your input is important! You can learn more about the project here. Hometown Heroes Last week, the House passed a bill to update the Hometown Heroes Assistance Program. Our firefighters face alarmingly high incidences of cancer, cardiac issues, and emotional trauma. The new program, which lawmakers enacted last year, provides firefighters access to education, prevention, and care to address cardiac conditions, emotional trauma, or cancer diagnoses. The Hometown Heroes Assistance Program is the most comprehensive in the nation of its kind and provides firefighters with free access to emotional trauma resources, up-to-$20,000 from critical illness insurance policies, and ongoing health and wellness training.  COVID-19 Update Getting the COVID-19 vaccination and booster can keep you and your family safe. If you’re not feeling well, get tested. You can still order up to 4 free COVID tests for your household. Go to https://www.covidtests.gov/ to get your test kits and for many more resources. _________ Stay connected with the Legislature The Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services offers nonpartisan recaps of high-profile bills, committee hearings, and floor sessions with their Session Daily publication. Subscribe to receive these here. To track bills of interest through the legislative process, I encourage you to utilize the MyBills feature on the Minnesota House of Representatives’ website here. I welcome your questions and comments anytime. You can send an email to rep.luke.frederick@house.mn or can call my legislative assistant, Blake Wilcox, at 651-296-8803. Also, please visit and “like” my Facebook page for more Capitol and community updates. Thank you for the privilege of representing you in the legislature. Sincerely, Luke Frederick State Representative |