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Dear Neighbors,

I hope this email finds you well! House committees are wrapping up their hearings as the final committee deadlines approach next week, which is when House finance committees, except for Taxes and Capital Investment, need to have their final budget bills passed out of their committees. Supplemental budget bills will then make their final stop in Ways and Means before they are up for a vote on the House floor. As this final committee work is happening, we will be spending more time on the House floor passing policy bills.

This week I also had three of my own bills up in committees. On Monday, I had a bonding bill considered for St. Louis Park that invests in improvements to the intersection of Oxford and Louisiana. The project would rehabilitate the roads, create walkability and connection to transit and trails, and mitigate pollutants before they run off into the Minnehaha Creek Watershed. I was joined by Mayor Nadia Mohamed and City Engineering Director, Deb Heiser.

Rep. Youakim presenting bills

On Tuesday, I had a bill up in House Education Finance that provides flexibility for school districts in their food service accounts to purchase lunchroom tables. Universal meals is popular and with more students eating meals at school, they need more capacity. That same day I also had a bill up in Taxes that would provide non-profit childcare centers who rent their space a break on their property taxes in the form of a state funded renters credit. Currently, non-profit childcare centers who own their facility receive a property tax exemption. Thank you to the Director Marcy Dearking from Kid Zone Early Learning in Hopkins and Director Kylie Cooper from Rise Early Learning Center in St. Louis Park from testifying on this bill!

Rep. Youakim presenting legislation
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*Floor Action*

On Monday, the House passed the Elections Policy Bill [ [link removed] ], which focuses on improved voter access and election transparency. It targets policy areas where the state can improve voter turnout and ensure that if voting is restricted, voters have a means of redress. 

We also approved the Public Safety Policy Bill [ [link removed] ] on a unanimous vote. The bill continues our comprehensive approach to public safety and crime prevention with support for victims, criminal justice reform, policy modernization, and more.

Yesterday, the House passed a Labor Policy Package [ [link removed] ] that includes provisions to strengthen the minimum wage, ban shadow non-competes, and increase pay transparency. We also passed a K-12 Education Policy Bill [ [link removed] ]. This bill prioritizes policies to improve the experiences of students in Minnesota schools while also making sure the state is measuring and holding schools accountable for academic outcomes. Finally, we advanced bills stabilizing Minnesota’s Disaster Assistance Contingency Account and allowing photos of hunting and fishing licenses to count as proof of license. [ [link removed] ] 

Public Safety, K-12, Labor, & Elections Policy Bills
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*Combatting Junk Fees*

Last night I proudly voted in favor of two pieces of legislation that will protect Minnesota consumers from deceptive and unfair business practices by ending junk fees [ [link removed] ] and requiring ticket price transparency [ [link removed] ]. 

Junk fees are any type of fees or charges that are separate from the list price and not always listed separately. The average Minnesota family pays over $3,000 annually on junk fees that increase prices without a tangible benefit to the consumer. We are all familiar with buying a ticket to a concert, sports game, or other event and seeing extra “service” and “convenience” fees added that provide no additional value to consumers. DFLers are passing legislation to require fair, transparent ticket prices and other important protections for consumers.

Consumer Protection Bills
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*Connected to Community*

Days on the hill are starting to slow down as we near the end of the legislative session, but I was fortunate to visit with folks who work in small businesses that focus clean energy. It was a great conversation on what we can do to help keep our environment healthy and sustainable for the next generations of Minnesotans and beyond.

constituents
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*Keep in Touch*

Please continue to contact me anytime at [email protected] or 651-296-9889 with questions or input. Email is the quickest way to get in touch.

Thank you for the honor of serving our Hopkins, Edina, and St. Louis Park neighbors in St. Paul.

Enjoy the weather this weekend!

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Cheryl Youakim
State Representative








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