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2409 MN Senate Building

95 University Ave W
St. Paul, MN 55155

Capitol UpdateMarch 17, 2016

www.senate.mn/
senatorwiklund

Highlights:
I serve on the following
committees: Health,
Human Services, and
Housing, E-12 Education
Policy and Finance, State
& Local Government.
The legislature is required
to adjourn for the year by
midnight on May 16th.
Im also looking forward
to meeting with Bloomington and Richfield residents about issues that
will be discussed this
year.

How to contact me
at the Capitol:
Phone:
651-297-8061
E-mail:
sen.melissa.wiklund
@senate.mn

Rep. Linda
Slocum (50A):
651-296-7158
rep.linda.slocum
@house.mn
Rep. Chad
Anderson (50B):
651-296-4218
rep.chad.anderson
@house.mn

March 17, 2016

SD50Bloomington, Richfield

Legislative Session Begins


Starting much later than
usual, the 2016 legislative session began on March 8th. The
legislature must adjourn by May
16th, which means that we will
have approximately 10 weeks in
which to get all of our work
done.
Legislative leaders have
agreed on deadlines for committees to finish their work, as
well. The first committee deadline is the date by which all policy bills must be through all policy committees in either the
House or the Senate. First
Deadline is April 1st. Second
Deadline, when all policy bills
must be through all policy committees in both the House and
the Senate, follows on April 8th.
Finally, Third Deadline is when
all bills that deal with state finances must be through the
finance committees. Third
Deadline is April 21st. In short,
in just over a month, all bills will

have to have worked through


the entire committee process in
order to become law this year.
Despite the short legislative
session, the number of issues
that will be discussed is quite
large. The 2015 session ended
with no agreements on taxes or
transportation. Im hopeful that
we can continue working towards a real, sustainable solution for Minnesotas aging transportation infrastructure.
In our community, the 49435W Interchange and the Mall
of America Transit Station are
high-priority projects that will
benefit not just our area, but
the entire state. The second
year of the biennium is when
the state typically debates bonding projects like these and assembles a bonding bill. Gov.
Dayton has laid out his bonding
priorities, and others will do so
as well.

Over the past year, the


House and Senate bonding committees have visited the Transit
Station as well as the Minnesota
Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
It was an honor to host them in
our district.
Needless to say, there is a
lot of work to do in 10 weeks!

Bills Presented In Committees


Given the short legislative
session, committees are taking
up bills in very rapid succession.
Already, I have presented eight
bills that I am the author of in
different committees.
Bills that I have presented
include the Excellence in Mental
Health Act, which would create
a one-stop shop model of
community behavioral health

clinics, a bill expanding education Innovation Zones, and a bill


that would extend the response
time residency requirement for
Richfield firefighters.
Im excited to work on a
wide variety of legislation that
will benefit our state and community in different ways.

Stay in touch! My contact


information, and the information for the House
members from our district
is on the left, please feel
free to contact my office
with any questions, comments, or concerns you
might have. I work for you,
and the more I hear from
you, the better I can do so!

Page 2

Capitol UpdateMarch 17, 2016

Around the District

The City of Richfield is looking for artists to


submit their work for utility box wraps.
More information can be found at http://
bit.ly/rewraps.

Richfield Mayor Debbie Goettel will have a


Mayors Hour from 9:30-10:30am, at
Wood Lake Nature Center (6710 Lake
Shore Dr), on March 26th.

The City of Bloomington is sponsoring a


family Egg Hunt on March 26th, starting at
10am, at the Normandale Lake Band Shell.

Richfields annual Egg Scramble is Saturday March 19th, at 10am, at Veterans Memorial Park.

Congratulations to Bloomingtons Team Tec


Man robotics team for earning first place at
the state FIRST Lego League Competition last month.

Bloomington Mayor Gene Winstead will


give a recap of his State of the City
address at Creekside Community Center
(9801 Penn Ave S), on March 30th, at 10am.
Register by March 29th by calling (952) 5634944.

Registration is now open for the Richfield


Citywide Garage Sale. Dates for the
Citywide Garage Sale are May 19th-21st.
Registration can be done online via the City
of Richfield.

Minnesota History: On March 17th,


1851, St. Paul hosts its first St. Patricks Day
parade.

Governor Details Budget Proposal, Senate Proposal to Follow


On March 15th, Governor Dayton outlined
his 2016 budget proposal. The February budget
forecast showed a $900 million surplus, and Gov.
Dayton has proposed to invest some of that in
Minnesota.
Key proposals from the Governors budget
include voluntary pre-kindergarten, paid parental
leave, investments in child care assistance, and
alleviating Minnesotas teacher shortage. As a
member of the Education and Health, Human
Services, and Housing committees, I look forward to discussing these issues in-depth.
Gov. Dayton is also proposing tax cuts for

Minnesota families by increasing child care tax


credits, the Working Family Tax Credit, and the
K-12 Education Tax Credit.
The Governors budget proposal would also
leave $571 million on the bottom line to provide
an additional protection against potential economic downturns, and ensure that the state can
still provide important services.
I look forward to discussing these proposals,
as well as Senate priorities. I hope that we can
continue the progress we have made for Minnesota.

Looking Ahead...
With such a short session, my days at the
Capitol are pretty busy. In the coming weeks, I
will meet with constituents representing beverage associations, the Building Trades, and the
Land Stewardship Project. Ill also be meeting
with Commissioner Johnson Piper of the Department of Human Services. As First Deadline approaches, Ill be spending quite a bit of time in
committee, hearing bills, and debating and discussing their merits. If you have time, I hope
youll stop by the Capitol and say Hi!. I look
forward to having time to meet with you after
session, so Ill see you around town!

Senator Wiklund confers with Sen. Eric Pratt (R


-Prior Lake).

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