303 State Capitol

75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther

King, Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155

Capitol UpdateApril 23, 2015

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 Third Committee
Deadline is April 24th.
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. Ann
Lenczewski (50B):
651-296-4218
rep.ann.lenczewski
@house.mn

April 23, 2015

SD50Bloomington, Richfield

Senate Takes Up Budget Bills

With policy committee
deadlines past, and the legislature back form Easter-Passover
Break, the focus in the Senate
has now turned to passing the
state budget. Budget bills are
assembled by committee division.
The first budget bill that the
Senate took up on Monday was
the State Departments and Veterans Affairs budget. Among
other provisions, this bill provides for greater authority to
distribute grant dollars from the
Support Our Troops Fund. This
budget also requires Minnesota
Management and Budget to
transfer $250 million to the
states budget reserves. Contributing to the budget reserve
is a responsible and prudent
step to take while the state is
experiencing a budget surplus to
prepare for unanticipated expenses or budget shortfalls.

The Senate also took up the

Higher Education and Workforce Development budget bill
on Monday. As the cost of
higher education has increased
in recent years, Im glad that we
can continue to take steps to
make college more affordable
for Minnesotans. This bill invests an additional $118.7 million in tuition relief for the University of Minnesota and state
colleges and universities, and
also includes an $18.6 million
increase in the State Grant Program. Another exciting aspect
of this bill is investment in free
tuition for Minnesota students
at two-year state colleges
(community or technical colleges) who demonstrate need, and
meet certain criteria.
Other budget bills taken up
this week include the Environment and Economic Development, and Judiciary budgets,
which were taken up

Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. We will be debating

and voting on the Health and
Human Services budget on Friday April 24th. Health and Human Services is the largest budget division, and funds many important services and programs
for the most vulnerable Minnesotans, including seniors and
those with disabilities.

Education Committee Passes Budget

On Thursday April 16th, the
Senate Education Finance Committee passed the E-12 Education budget bill. As a member
of this committee, I was able to
work very closely on this bill.
Highlights include a 2% increase
to the basic funding formula,
which represents another $117
per student. Im glad that we
are continuing our investments

in schools. This bill also includes an additional $70 million

in early childhood education
programs, and $5 million in
early childhood scholarships.
This bill also takes steps to address maintenance of aging
school facilities by making more
funds available, and invests in
academic achievement and career and college readiness.

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 UpdateApril 23, 2015

Around the District

The

Congratulations to Blooming Kennedy senior Dani Prady, Bloomington Jefferson senior Kate Deming, and Richfield senior Emily
Christian on receiving the Athena Award!

The Bloomington Human Rights Commission is hosting a viewing of the documentary

Mr. Civil Rights: Thurgood Marshall
and the NAACP, on Tuesday, May 12th,
at 6:30pm, at the Bloomington Civic Plaza
(1800 W Old Shakopee Rd). A panel discussion will follow.

International
Future Problem
Solving
Competition
will be located

at Iowa State
University in

Best of luck to the Richfield Sheridan Hills

Elementary School teams in the International Future Problem Solving Competition in June!

Bloomington is currently carrying out its

Ames

Curbside Cleanup program. For more

information, contact Public Works at (952)
563-4870.

The Metropolitan Airport Commission is

hosting a Public Input Meeting regarding
airport noise on Tuesday, April 28, at 7pm,
at the Richfield Municipal Building (6700
Portland Ave S).

The City of Bloomington is hosting an open

house on the topic of organized solid
waste collection in the Public Works
Training Room at the Bloomington Public
Works Building (1700 W 98th St) on Thursday, April 23rd, from 4pm-7pm.

Minnesota History: On April 28, 1871, a

lake monster is seen swimming in Lake Pepin, near Red Wing.

Bloomington and Richfield Transportation Priorities

Last week, I presented two bills in the Senate
Transportation Committee that are very important to our community. S.F. 245 would bond
for funds to improve the Mall of America Transit
Station, and S.F. 296 would provide funds for the
first phase of redesign and reconstruction of the
35W-494 interchange.
The Mall of America Transit Station is the
busiest in the state and is in serious need of redesign to ensure ease of access and navigation.
The station has no exterior signage, and is, in
many ways, obsolete. The 35W-494 interchange
is, according to the Federal Highway Administra-

tion, the 19th worst bottleneck in the country,

and is also one of the most dangerous interchanges in the state. Im pleased that City of
Bloomington officials were on hand to illustrate
the importance of these projects.
I also was able to tour the location of the
77th Street Underpass with City of Richfield
officials, and the Chair of the Metropolitan
Council, Adam Duinick. This underpass is one of
Richfields top priorities, and one of mine as well.
Im hopeful that we can build on the work begun
last year when this project received initial funding in the bonding bill.

Looking Ahead...
With committees largely wrapping up their
work, Ill be spending more time in the full Senate, debating, amending, and voting on bills for
final passage. Next week, the Senate will likely
take up the E-12 Education and Transportation
budget bills, and the Omnibus Tax bill will not be
far behind. Once bills are passed, conference
committees will begin ironing out differences and
negotiating final budget agreements. With less
than a month remaining in the session, there is
still a lot of work to be done. I also look forward to presenting individual bills that Im the
author of. I hope youll stop by the Capitol and
say Hi!. Otherwise, Ill see you around town!

Sen. Wiklund with constituents from the American Federal, State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union.