There may be a chance for some rare bipartisanship in this year’s legislative session. “Alarmed by last summer’s attacks on their colleagues, Minnesota lawmakers are seeking to protect themselves and future legislators as the country faces a surge of political violence,” reports the Minnesota Star Tribune. Among the proposals are bills “seeking to make legislators’ home addresses, personal phone numbers and children’s names private data and to require law enforcement agencies to develop safety protocols for elected officials,” among other things. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have expressed interest in supporting the bills.

Speaking of bipartisanship, “a bill that would explicitly allow first responders to access donated health and wellness resources received bipartisan support Monday in the House Elections Finance and Government Operations Committee,” according to MPR News. Currently, state law “says local officials, including public safety officers, can’t accept gifts from anyone with a financial stake in decisions the officials make. The bill would add exceptions to the law, including: ‘services for mental health or wellness support, including but not limited to counseling, therapy, peer support, recreational activities, wellness days, or meals that are provided at no cost to first responders by any nonprofit organization whose primary mission is to support the mental or physical health and well-being of public safety personnel.’”

Even though more and more students are returning to classrooms after the drawdown of Operation Metro Surge, thousands remain in a virtual setting, according to KARE 11. Some districts report that many students are still to afraid to leave their homes. 

More than a month after the state enacted the new paid leave policy, the numbers are in: We’re under budget. According to WCCO, program director Greg Norfleet said “The first thing I can report, and you don’t get this too often, is the rollout of paid leave came in $70 million under budget. And the extra money is going back into the pool of money used to pay claims.”

The post A real chance at bipartisanship appeared first on MinnPost.

This post was shared from MinnPost.