This has been quite a week at the Legislature. Highlights include the joint hearing of the House Energy Committee with the Senate Environment and Energy Committee on silica sand mining in southern Minnesota. This is incredibly controversial because of the potential damage to the environment, residents’ health, infrastructure, and the impact on the tourism industry.
In my Labor, Workplace and Regulated Industries Committee, we passed the Patient Staffing bill. This legislation recommends staffing grids for nurses in hospitals based on information from relevant national organizations. The next stop will be the Government Operations Committee.
On Thursday evening, Senator Carlson and I met with parents from Arc to discuss some of the issues regarding their children who have disabilities. It is amazing to see how these parents have adjusted their lives and homes to accommodate the needs of their children, More importantly, we discussed what should be done to maximize the opportunities for the children as they grow older.
My sincere appreciation to all who attended the Town Hall Meeting that Senator Jim Carlson and I hosted on Saturday morning at the Wescott Library in Eagan. Some of the discussion covered taxes on clothing and services, cameras at intersections, and hunting wolves. This will be a great help as we start to hear bills.