INSIDE THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Feature
Sen. Liz Boldon
Rep. Kim Hicks
DISTRICT 25
DISTRICT 25A
What is an outcome from the 2023 Legislative Session that will have a significant impact on the Rochester area business community? All of Minnesota’s working parents need certainty that their young children are able receive high quality care. Childcare availability and costs present significant barriers to those looking to enter the workforce, and last year the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis found that these factors also significantly shape workers’ decisions to cut their hours or leave the workforce altogether. Childcare has been in crisis, with parents unable to afford care and many providers forced to close classrooms due to lack of staff. I am proud that, this session, our legislative majorities passed child tax credits to help families cover the cost of raising children while pursuing a full-time career, alongside retention grants to stabilize the childcare workforce and help keep providers’ doors open. These reforms will strengthen the workforce that fuels our local business community, and further our goal to make Minnesota the best state to work and raise a family. What is a notable or key accomplishment from the session? After years without a robust bonding bill and decades of underfunding for housing, I am proud of all the long-term investments we made in Minnesota’s infrastructure this year. From boosting construction of housing supply and workforce housing, to millions in infrastructure projects that will create jobs and opportunity across southeastern Minnesota, and over $200 million in lead pipe replacement, these strategic uses of our one-time surplus funds will have lasting impact on the strength and growth of our economy. As Vice Chair of the Senate Housing and Homelessness Prevention committee, I’m particularly proud of our $1 billion investment toward solving the housing crisis that is impacting our fast-growing community and many others across the state.
What is an outcome from the 2023 Legislative Session that will have a significant impact on the Rochester area business community? Bold investment in the caring professions. From historic increases for Personal Care Attendants (PCAs), Direct Support Professionals (DSPs), Assistive living staff, nursing home staff, loan forgiveness for nurses, and childcare, we prioritized caregiving. We worked to ensure ALL caregivers were valued. I was proud to serve on the Human Services Finance and Policy committees and carried both the PCA wage bill and the recruitment and retention bonuses for the caregiver bill that will ensure the people doing our most important work know how much we value them. What is a notable or key accomplishment from the session? This session we put people first in everything we did. We centered every policy from childcare, education, higher education, disability services, bonding projects and so much more on MN workers and families. That lens led to enacting policies to make Minnesota the best place to work, live and raise a family. I am proud of the investment we made locally in our trails and Graham Park. I am also proud of the sweeping investment we made in caregiving. We worked together across chambers, with the Governor, and across the aisle to deliver for our communities. I am honored to have been a part of this consequential session.
6 | ROCHESTER AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ADVANTAGE MAGAZINE — JUNE 2023
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