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Friends and neighbors,?
Happy end of session from the Capitol! ?
This legislative session, we passed a historic tax cut for Minnesota?s working families, which will cut child poverty by at least one third. Part of this package includes my bill to expand the working family tax credit to families that use Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs) - which are used by our hardworking undocumented community members. ?
As the Vice Chair of the Property Tax Division Committee and a conferee on the Taxes Conference Committee, I?m especially proud of the hard work that went into this bill. I want to extend a special thank you to Chairs Aisha Gomez and Dave Lislegard for their fantastic leadership this session, fighting for working families in Minnesota.?
 The bill includes property tax cuts for both renters and homeowners, along with robust aid to counties and cities in every corner of Minnesota. We also included a large increase for local government and county aid, so local governments receive more funds to complete day-to-day services and won?t have to rely on property taxes as much.?
I?m so proud to be a member of what we affectionately call the ?Trifecta Class.? This first session was only possible because of the mandate that voters across Minnesota gave me and my colleagues ? and we heard you loud and clear. Here are some of our proudest accomplishments:??
 You can read more about our final bills using our nonpartisan Session Daily stories: Veterans and Military Affairs, Housing, Higher Education, Legacy, Agriculture, Early Education, Public Safety and Judiciary, K-12 Education, Jobs and Labor, Environment and Energy, Commerce, State Government and Elections, Human Services, Taxes, Transportation, Health, Capital Investment, Cannabis, and Paid Family and Medical Leave.?
Personally, I am proud to share below some of the bills that I authored this session, which passed as parts of larger funding bills:??
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HF 759, a first step to streamline computer science courses across the state for our k-12 students, was included in the Education budget bill. It creates a working group that will ensure we have adequate teacher training and funding so every student in Minnesota has a fair chance in our 21st century economy that will revolve around tech.
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HF 874 is the key Head Start bill that allocates $10 million a year?across the state to programs that help parents prepare for their most important job, while also preparing students for kindergarten. Low-income kids are given social, physical, emotional, and cognitive skills and competencies necessary for success.
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HF 2878 was included in the main Agriculture budget bill and?increases access to healthy foods for families on SNAP and EBT. It provides $200,000 to vendors at farmers markets with grants to purchase technology and equipment to process payments, which they otherwise might not be able to afford.
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HF 2889, included in the Jobs bill, provides $800,000 to Social Kitchens, a project on the Eastside that trains youth to become culinary experts while filling the job shortage in the food industry.
In the final Capital Investment bill, the following projects in the district were funded: ?
- $11 million to the St. Paul Port Authority for rehabilitation of the?old Hillcrest golf course
- $750,000 to the St. Paul Urban Tennis program for indoor courts
This year?s Legacy bill also provides $450,000 to fund development of the Hmong Plaza at Lake Phalen.?
Finally, I?m proud to share that in the final weeks of the legislative session, we passed?paid family and medical leave, which will be transformational for Minnesotans across the State. This is a common-sense policy that will benefit working families across our state, and I'm proud of the improvements we?ve made along the way to make this accessible to everyone - especially small businesses. Studies have shown that paid family and medical leave helps small businesses attract and retain employees, and with the premium support we provided, small businesses can provide the benefit for a fraction of what it would cost on their own. Minnesotans deserve to be able to care for their loved ones without fear of losing wages, or even their job ? I'm so proud we made this a reality this session!?
During this 93rd session of the Minnesota legislature, the dozens of important bills my colleagues and I passed created another ?Minnesota Miracle,? which will support all Minnesota families for generations to come.??DFLers are committed to working for the people of Minnesota, and we will continue to fight for progress in the years to come.?
To stay up to date with our important work at the State Capitol, you can see the Minnesota House of Public Information Services? nonpartisan recaps of high-profile bills, committee hearings, and floor sessions with their Session Daily publication.?
You can also stay up-to-date with the latest by following my Facebook page and Twitter.?
To share your input or ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance, please feel free to reach out at [email protected] or 651-296-4277, and I will be happy to help. If you were forwarded this email and you?d like to subscribe, click here. If you have a friend or neighbor who would be interested in receiving these, please forward this and encourage them to subscribe.?
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Zoo siab,??
Rep. Liz Lee?
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