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Dear Neighbors,

The Minnesota Legislature is back from last week’s Easter and Passover break. It was great to spend time with my family, meet with some folks in-district, and take part in some Town Halls with my colleagues before heading back for the final stretch of the legislative session.

With only a little over three weeks left to get our work done, there’s a lot to do, but we’re making progress. We passed our Agriculture budget [ [link removed] ] yesterday - which I helped craft as part of the committee - and we’ll pass our Legacy [ [link removed] ], Public Safety and Judiciary budgets [ [link removed] ] today.

Our Agriculture budget passed with broad bipartisan support, and I’m hoping that’s a sign of things to come.






Agriculture Budget




My DFL colleagues and I fought to ensure our budget included increases in funding for Farm to School and Early Care and Local Food Purchasing programs, which nourish our kids while also providing stability to local farmers. We increased workplace protections for meat and poultry workers and ensured retail milk and poultry will be tested for bird flu. We’re also helping the next generation of farmers by increasing down payment assistance for those just getting started in agriculture.

It’s worth noting that these are not our final budget bills. Once our House proposals are passed, we then begin the process of working with the Senate to craft the final versions that reconcile the differences in our bills. That work should take us right up until our constitutional adjournment date of May 19, and I’m committed to ensure we pass the best budget possible for Minnesota by then. 

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The Priority Admissions Task Force*

Lately I’ve been building on the work I did in 2023 when I helped create the Priority Admissions Task Force [ [link removed] ]. I’ve been working with groups in the Mankato area and throughout the state to study Minnesota’s priority Admissions Law, also known as the 48-hour law.

Enacted in 2013, the Priority Admissions Law requires the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) to admit civilly committed individuals being held in jail within 48 hours of a medically appropriate bed becoming available in a state-operated mental health program.

The task force’s final report was published in February - those who are interested can read it here [ [link removed] ] - and the stakeholder groups I’ve been working with will have their final meeting next week.

Simply put, there are people that have been civilly committed but because of a lack of bedspace within our state system they are just sitting in our jails and hospitals. Minnesota can and must do better.

 

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*Minnesota Making Progress on Clean Energy *

Even as we work to pass our new budget, our progress from the last few years is still taking shape. In 2023 and 2024, DFLers made generational investments in a cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient energy system, putting Minnesota on the path to 100% Carbon-Free Energy by 2040. 

The latest Minnesota Energy Factsheet [ [link removed] ] shows our policies are working and our investments are paying off, creating high-paying clean energy jobs, lowering costs for families, and building a greener future:


* A new record low in carbon emissions, cutting another 4% between 2023 and 2024.
* Residents and businesses have saved more than $307 million in energy costs from the Energy Conservation Optimization (ECO) Act.
* Minnesota is ranked No. 1 in the Midwest for overall energy efficiency, and No. 10 nationwide!

Here at the Capitol, I’m dedicated to protecting our progress from those who are seeking to repeal the legislation that made this positive change possible.

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Stay Connected*

We’ve only got a few weeks left of the legislative session. To stay in the loop these remaining weeks, the Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services will once again be offering nonpartisan recaps of high-profile bills, committee hearings, and floor sessions with their Session Daily [ [link removed] ] publication. Subscribe to receive these here [ [link removed] ]. To track bills of interest through the legislative process, I encourage you to utilize the MyBills [ [link removed] ] feature on the Minnesota House of Representatives’ website. You can also visit my House of Representatives website [ [link removed] ].

I welcome your questions and comments anytime. You can send an email to [email protected] or call me at (651) 296-3248. Also, please visit and “like” my Facebook [ [link removed] ] page for more Capitol and community updates.

Thank you for the privilege of representing you in the legislature.

Sincerely, 

 

Luke Frederick

State Representative






*District 18B* – [email protected] <[email protected]>
5th Floor, Centennial Office Building
658 Cedar St.
St. Paul, MN 55155
(651) 296-3248








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