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Andy Smith Banner




Passing Paid Family and Medical Leave!

Dear Neighbors,

Thank you to those who joined me and Senator Liz Boldon at a legislative town hall the Rochester League of Women Voters [ [link removed] ] hosted a couple of weeks back. It was great to update you on our progress going into the final month of the legislature, and I am glad to share that we have now passed all of our budget proposals off the House Floor!

Smith Town Hall

You can read into the specifics of our budget proposals in the House Public Information articles written on each:?Higher Education [ [link removed] ],?Legacy [ [link removed] ],?Environment and Clean Energy [ [link removed] ],?Housing [ [link removed] ],?Veterans [ [link removed] ],?Elections, State and Local Government [ [link removed] ],?K-12 Education [ [link removed] ],?Agriculture [ [link removed] ],?Transportation [ [link removed] ],?Early Learning [ [link removed] ],?Children & Families [ [link removed] ],?Jobs & Labor [ [link removed] ],?Human Services [ [link removed] ],?Pensions [ [link removed] ],?Commerce [ [link removed] ],?Judiciary & Public Safety [ [link removed] ],?Tax [ [link removed] ], and?Health [ [link removed] ].

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Paid Family and Medical Leave

Last week, the House passed our proposal to guarantee that workers have access to Paid Family and Medical Leave. [ [link removed] ] No one should be forced to choose between earning a paycheck and taking care of themselves or a family member, but the United States of America is the only developed country in the world that does not guarantee some sort of paid leave for its workforce.

I am excited to build a future in which workers never again must choose between providing for their families or caring for their families, and I was proud to stand up on the floor and speak in support of the bill. [ [link removed] ]

Smith Floor Remarks

Enacting Paid Family and Medical Leave will help to make Minnesota the best state in the nation for children and families. It complements all the other work we are doing to help Minnesotans afford their lives, like investing in affordable housing, providing free school meals, and reducing health care costs. I was excited to cast my ?yes? vote for this legislation, and I want to thank all the advocates, many of whom I spoke to on Tuesday, for showing up and never giving up!

PFML

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Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act

Last week, the Minnesota Reformer published a story about how the Mayo Clinic is threatening to pull billions in investments [ [link removed] ] over the proposed Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act. Today, one in five nurses are planning on leaving the profession, and a major thing we can do to stop that trend is to give nurses more of a say in staffing decisions. Nurses need to feel safe and valued. As I have said before, I support our nurses who testified in the Health Committee and elsewhere that this bill will help solve the retention and care issues [ [link removed] ] we are seeing in our hospitals.

I love the Mayo Clinic and support the work that they do, but I disagree with their opposition to this bill. This bill allows nurses to be heard in staffing committees and does not impose a one-size-fits-all system. I believe this bill, which is the product of years of work and compromise, is the best step forward and I will continue to advocate in support of the Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act.

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Lawns 2 Legumes!

The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) is once again accepting applications for grants for the Lawns to Legumes program. This program aims to increase habitat for at-risk pollinators in residential settings across the state by providing people with cost-share funding, workshops, coaching, and gardening resources. The new application period is open, and applications will be accepted through June 30, 2023. Details:?[link removed]

L2L
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Stay Connected!

*Unfortunately, due to technological constraints, replies to this newsletter won?t reach my email account.?*To share your input or ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance, please feel free to reach out [email protected]?or 651-296-9249, and I will be happy to help. If you were forwarded this email and you?d like to subscribe, click here [ [link removed] ]. If you have a friend or neighbor who would be interested in receiving these, please forward this and encourage them to subscribe!

Warmly,?

Andy Smith,
State Representative






Representative Andy Smith

411 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155

Phone: 651-296-9249
Email:[email protected] "(replies to this newsletter are not monitored)"
Website:?[link removed]
Legislative Assistant: Robin Schmidt, 651-296-8197







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