Volume 2, Number 7

Greetings, This week has been full of activity on the Senate floor. We passed, and the Governor has signed the Safe and Supportive Schools Act to protect all of our kids from bullying. We also adopted a supplemental finance bill making additional investments in early childhood education - such as my bill to increase funding for early childhood scholarships. The most contentious bill on the Senate floor this week was the minimum wage bill. I supported the package presented to the Senate to increase the minimum wage. Although, there are provisions in the bill that I was hesitant to support, such as indexing, I felt comfortable standing strong for the more than 350,000 people and their families who rely on these wages. Next week, the legislature will be on PassoverEaster recess and will be reconvening on April 22. I hope you have a blessed holiday. Until then,

April 11, 2014 Connect with Me

Facebook www.facebook.com/ MelisaLFranzen Twitter @MelisaFranzen YouTube Melisa Franzen Week in Review

Photo of the Week

Sen. Franzen looks on with chief authors Sen. Dibble and Rep. Davnie as Gov. Mark Dayton signs the Safe & Supportive Schools Act on Wednesday, April 9.

Around the District

Edina High School was ranked the third most challenging high school in the state for the second straight year. This ranking comes from The Washington Posts list of the countrys Most Challenging High Schools list. The rankings are based on collegelevel course work completed by students and the number of graduates from that year. Overall, Edina High School ranks 315th out of all high schools in the nation. Congratulations to the students, faculty, and staff of EHS! Congratulations to Chris Hauer, who was named a Fox 9 Top Teacher. Chris is a fifth grade teacher at Olson Elementary School in Bloomington. He was officially recognized at a ceremony on Tuesday, April 8. The Eden Prairie Veterans Memorial Committee is seeking nominations for veterans to honor at its 2014 Memorial Day Celebration. The ceremony will be held at 11:00 am on Memorial Day, May 26. Veterans who have served in the U.S. military can be nominated by completing this form and mailing it to Eden Prairie Veterans Memorial, 8080 Mitchell Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55344, or e-mailing it to epvets@gmail.com.

Save the Date: Town Hall

Town Hall with Representative Ron Erhardt and Senator Melisa Franzen Monday, April 21 at 6:00pm Edina Community Center, Room 351

Around the Capitol

Minimum Wage

The Senate passed legislation to phase in an increase in states minimum wage to $9.50 in 2016. The minimum wage will be indexed to inflation beginning in 2018 under the oversight of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. This will help ensure workers earning the minimum wage will Please join me and Representative Ron Erhardt at our not fall behind as the cost of living increases in the upcoming town hall meeting open to all constituents. future.

For directions to the ECC, please click here.

Tweet of the Week

Constituents for Habitat for Humanity day @ the Capitol. I support your efforts for homeless youth and bonding.#mnleg pic.twitter.com/rRS4ggLcsf

Details of the agreement include:

$9.50 minimum wage phased in for businesses with gross sales over $500,000 in 2016 - $8.00 in August 2014, $9.00 in August 2015. $7.75 minimum wage phase in for businesses under $500,000 in gross sales in 2016. - $6.50 in August 2014, $7.25 in August 2015. The $7.75 minimum wage rate would also apply for large businesses in the following circumstances: - 90 day training wage for 18 and 19 year olds, all 16 and 17 year olds and employees working under a J1 visa; - Beginning in 2018, all wages would increase each year on January 1st by inflation measured by the implicit price deflator capped at 2.5%.

Highlights

This week, I wrote a column in the Edina Sun Current regarding the newly proposed State Legislative Office Building. Read about my concerns with the proposal here.

On Tuesday, I joined the entire senate (65-0) in supporting H.F. 2307, otherwise known as Steves Law. This bill will equip law enforcement with the tools needed to combat a drug overdose and protect those that seek help if they are The indexed increase could be suspended by the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Inhaving a medical emergency. dustry (DOLI) if leading economic indicators show The House passed the final version of H.F. 826, or the Safe the possibility of a substantial downturn in the economy. The suspension could only be implemented afand Supportive Schools Act. I was proud to stand with ter a public hearing and public comment period. In Governor Dayton as he signed the bill into law. better economic times, the suspended inflationary See Photo of the Week increase or a lesser amount could be added back into the minimum wage rate in a subsequent year.