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Dear Neighbors,

Last week, the legislature took a break in recognition of the Easter and Passover holidays, giving us a moment of respite to spend time with our families and prepare for the final stretch of the legislative session - which began in earnest this week.

This week, we began the process of passing the House’s budget proposals, having already passed our Agriculture budget yesterday, and will do the same for our Legacy, Judiciary and Public Safety budgets today.

I was happy to speak in favor of the House’s Legacy Bill during today’s floor debate, though some of my Republican colleagues didn’t appreciate the facts I shared about the Trump administration’s attacks on our clean water, lands and the Boundary Waters itself. You can watch my speech here:

As is the nature of a tied House, these are bipartisan bills made up of investments and policies where neither side is getting exactly what they want. These are compromises. So far, I can point to things I really like in these bills, things I’m not too crazy about, and things that were unfortunately necessary to garner Republican support to pass the bill.

For the policies and investments (or lack thereof) that I’m not a fan of, the good news is that these aren’t the final versions of these budgets. After the House passes their budget proposals, we’ll then start the process of negotiating with the Senate to craft the final versions in conference committees, which are made up of House and Senate members specializing in the respective budget areas. These committees will work together to craft a final bill that will need to pass the House and Senate a final time before being sent to Governor Walz.

That’s the process that’ll take up the remaining three(!) weeks of the legislative session. So far, we’re on track and folks are working in a bipartisan manner, and I hold out hope for a productive end to my first legislative session.

Thank you to everyone who has and continues to write in to me with support and concerns for the many provisions in these bills. Your opinions mean a lot to me as I work to represent all our neighbors, family, and friends in Eden Prairie and Minnetonka. Your voice matters, so please continue to speak up!

I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop as we sprint towards our constitutional adjournment date of May 19.

Investing In Our Community

Though most committees have finished their official work for the year, having passed their budget and policy proposals, an outlier in this process is the Capital Investment Committee, which continues to hear bill presentations, including one of mine!

I was honored to present the Opus Project bonding bill, HF 720, yesterday morning. I was joined by Mayor Wiersum and City Manager Mike Funk. The Opus project is a mixed-use community region featuring residential apartments with 1000 affordable units built and planned for, employment centers, 6 miles of off road trails and open natural areas, and directly connected to the light rail with an included transit station.

This project would support Minnetonka’s robust business project and provide open space and recreation activities for not just area residents but the entire region.

If you’re interested, you can watch our committee hearing here.

State of the State

My first State of the State was a little later in the year than usual, but the result was an effective rallying cry to finish the legislative session strong. While I don’t agree with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle on everything, Minnesota has an opportunity in these next few weeks to show the country what can be accomplished when we work together.

The view from my desk with my wife Erica.

Working together in St. Paul is markedly different than the onslaught of what is coming at us from Washington D.C. I’m proud that our DFL colleagues are doing everything we can to uphold protections for our working families, environment and climate goals, and personal freedoms. And at times, I’ve been proud we’ve been able to find common ground with Republicans on similar priorities.

So, while the Trump Administration is trying its best to tear our social safety net programs apart to the benefit of tax breaks for billionaires, Governor Walz, last night, threw down what should be our North Star for finishing out this session: “If you say you love freedom but you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love is not freedom, it is privilege.” We need to finish these next few weeks working for all Minnesotans while remaining vigilant year-round when it comes to protecting the freedoms of everyone in our state.

If you missed Governor Walz’s State of the State speech, you can watch it here.

Stay Connected

We started this week honoring the late Mary Murphy, who served as a State Representative from Hermantown for 46 years. Of her many historic accomplishments over the decades, she also authored the law naming blueberry muffins as Minnesota’s official muffin. In her honor, we held a blueberry bake-off, and I’ll leave you with my submission: Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins, and you can find the recipe here.

The next weeks are going to go fast, with the culmination of our work these last few months coming together. I shared updates through this newsletter and on my Facebook page, but I also encourage you to reach out with any questions or comments you have on our work. 

You can reach me at [email protected] or 651-296-3964. You’ll either hear back from me or my Legislative Assistant, Jared. I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Alex Falconer

State Representative

House District 49A

State Representative Alex Falconer

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
Legislative Assistant: Jared Margolis 651-296-5002