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Dear Neighbors,  

We’re in the 2nd half of the legislative session, where much of our work now focuses more on individual committees building their respective budgets. Before I dive into our legislative work, I wanted to invite you to an event I’m co-hosting on Saturday with Rep. Liish Kozlowski and Attorney General Keith Ellison.






Duluth Community Forum





Protecting the rights of Minnesotans is paramount, especially as we see increasing attempts from the federal government to roll back those rights. 

To find out what's being done at the state level to protect Minnesotans, and have your questions and concerns addressed, I hope you can join us for Saturday's Duluth Community Forum.

We’ll talk about the steps we've taken and the road ahead. If you're interested in attending, you can RSVP here [ [link removed] ]. 

 

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*Unanimous Support on the House Floor*

The ideal nature of a tied Minnesota House is that everything we pass will be bipartisan, common-ground solutions. I’m happy to say those moments are starting to shine through, including for my first bill [ [link removed] ] on the House Floor.  

Last week, the Minnesota House unanimously voted to pass my bill to enable funds for child advocacy centers. It’s a good bill that speaks for itself, providing support to a great program that does right by Minnesota’s kids. When a horrendous crime is committed, we can at least ensure that support is delivered to victims and their families.






Floor Vote

Behind me you can see an all-green board. “Yes” votes for Minnesota’s kids.






The bill would add children’s advocacy centers to the list of “victim assistance programs,” enabling them to receive proceeds from fines imposed on people convicted of assault or criminal sexual misconduct. You can read more about my bill here [ [link removed] ].   

The next step in the legislative process will be for the Senate to pass the bill.

  

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*Delivering Support to the Iron Range* 

In Minnesota, we look out for our workers. We lend a helping hand when they need it, and with the recent news that nearly 600 miners will be laid off by May [ [link removed] ], the Iron Range needs that helping hand.  

This week in the House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Committee, we heard a couple proposals to address this issue, largely focused on ensuring these workers would have an extension applied to their Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits.

The House Republican proposal was contingent on environmental policy changes, and while I understand their desire to address that topic as well, these are two completely different issues that should stand on their own through the legislative process. After my amendment to make the Republican proposal a one-topic bill failed, the bill failed.

Today, the committee heard my bill that solely focuses on extending the UI benefits, and I’m happy to say it advanced with unanimous support [ [link removed] ]. Moving this bill forward is the process working as it should. Working together, we can deliver this support to the Iron Range soon.

The next stop for this bill will be the House’s Committee on Ways and Means, and I hope we’ll see it on the House Floor in the coming weeks so we can deliver this extension in time.  

 

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*A “Landing Spot” for Federal Workers*  

Hundreds of federal employees are also grappling with unemployment, having either already been laid off or face an uncertain future with rampant federal cuts. Last month, Governor Walz announced that the state had launched a new website aimed at connecting these workers with new jobs [ [link removed] ], whether within state government or the private sector.  






Supporting Laid-Off Federal Workers





In addition to this new resource, I encourage any job seekers in our community to check out the Department of Employment and Economic Development’s website [ [link removed] ], which is home to several resources for job seekers.

 

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*Small Business Impact Survey*

Amid additional federal tariffs taking effect this week, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development [ [link removed] ] is gathering information from affected small businesses in Minnesota.

In this period of uncertainty, there may be a lag in data, so this survey is a way for our business owners to communicate directly with the department now. The survey [ [link removed] ] takes less than five minutes to complete. By collaborating with Minnesota's locally owned small businesses, which face significant challenges, we can proactively plan for the state's future needs.   

 

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*Stay Connected  *

We’re over halfway through this year’s legislative session. The remaining weeks are busy ones, which makes it all the more important to reach out! I know it’s not easy for everyone in our community to make the trip down to the State Capitol, but I always appreciate it when you do. Recently, I got to sit down with folks from USW and SEIU - two unions that do a fantastic job of supporting and advocating for workers in our community. 






Labor Unions

Labor Unions




It was especially heartwarming to speak to everyone that came down for this year’s Fire Service Day at the Capitol. If I wasn’t a State Representative, there’s a good chance I would’ve been in this room anyways. It’s always a treat to meet with my brothers and sisters that do so much to keep our communities safe.  






Fire Service Day at the Capitol




If you have any questions, comments, or ideas, please feel free to contact my office! You can reach me at [email protected] or (651) 296-4246. You’ll either hear back from me, or our Legislative Assistant, Faith Privett. You can also follow along on my new Legislative Facebook page [ [link removed] ].      

I look forward to hearing from you!    

Sincerely,  

Pete Johnson   

State Representative 






State Representative Pete Johnson

5th Floor, Centennial Office Building
658 Cedar St.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155

Phone: 651-296-3964
Email: [email protected] (replies to this newsletter are not monitored).
Website [ [link removed] ]
Legislative Assistant: Faith Privett 651-297-8145







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