Work continues to be steady in the Minnesota Senate—the first committee deadline is in two weeks. The deadlines represent the dates when a bill must receive action from a legislative committee for it to more forward the rest of session. With session ending mid-May—many of the bills that move forward in the next couple weeks will likely be a part of some end-of-session agreement made between the Senate, House, and Governor.
Senator Ruud Champions Online Hospitality Training Program
The Minnesota hospitality industry has been the hardest-hit when discussing workforce shortages: the industry is down 20,000 jobs compared pre-covid levels, and nearly 50,000 workers permanently left the industry amidst the pandemic. This has dealt substantial devastation to the industry’s workforce pipeline.
Senator Carrie Ruud introduced SF3771 legislation that mitigates this problem by funding grants for an online hospitality program in partnership with Explore Minnesota Tourism. This program would be available at no cost to Minnesota residents and would address the critical workforce shortage by providing free training resources to build the knowledge of new and incoming hospitality workers.
“Minnesota’s tourism industry generates over $1 billion in state sales tax every year, making tourism an important cornerstone of our state’s economy. Our hospitality industry took the hardest hit in workforce shortages, and new hires that are filling the employment gaps are first-time workers lacking knowledge and training. This legislation works to address that problem, so we can get our hospitality and tourism industries back on track.”
Based on findings from South Dakota, Hospitality Minnesota believes a similar program could train up to 4,000 new or existing workers per year, generating a projected $160 million in wages.
This bill was introduced this week and is scheduled in the Jobs Committee next week.
Minnesota Clean Car Rules Update
This week in my Senate Environment & Natural Resources Policy Committee we advanced the Consumer Choice of Fuel Act—the legislation SF3065 prohibits state agencies from creating rules that would restrict the sale of vehicles based on their fuel source and request auto dealers to have a certain amount of those vehicles in their inventory. The legislation would effectively block clean car rules adopted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency that take effect in 2024 for the 2025 model year.
Community of Minnesota Resorts
This week the Community of Minnesota Resorts (CMR) held their day on the Hill… CMR focuses on small family-owned businesses where thousand of families across Minnesota share time on the lake. I was delighted to join in the CMR day at the Capitol and for Chief Authoring the valuable legislation below.
The CMR legislative priorities include:
- SF3392—Watercraft Operator Training and Protection Against Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS). Requiring watercraft training for all motorized boat operators, and training about the spread of AIS.
- SF2769—Tourism Recovery Grants…the grant program is to Explore Minnesota for the tourism industry, and it must provide money to organizations and communities to accelerate the recovery of the state’s tourism industry.
- SF1476—Resort Property Tax Tiers… adjust the tier levels to address inflation and rising values.
Minnesota Sportsmen’s Caucus
As Chair of the National Sportsmen’s Caucus—it was great attending the Minnesota Legislative Sportmen’s Caucus Reception hosted by the National Marine Manufacturers Association this week. Minnesota ranks 7th in spending and 6th nationally in total number of sportsmen, the North Star State’s 1,649,000 hunters and anglers spend $3.17 billion and support 47,901 jobs annually. I enjoyed time meeting with Minnesota DNR Commissioner Strommen, Minnesota DNR Fisheries Chief, Brad Parsons, Ron Schara, Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Alliance (MOHA) folks—and countless other representatives of Minnesota’s outdoor community.
Local News
The National Loon Center has just launched a Loon Research Ambassador Program that gives people the opportunity to “adopt” a banded loon.
As members of the Loon Research Ambassador Program, you’ll sponsor one of the 48 adult loons banded in the very first season of the study. You’ll also enjoy several benefits and opportunities to become involved in the science this summer.
LOON RESEARCH AMBASSADORS have an opportunity to choose a lake and even identify a specific loon in some cases if it has been banded near them. They’ll provide updates on that loon throughout the research season.
Loon Research Ambassador Program 2022: National Loon Center
Have a great start to your weekend!
Thank you for taking the time to read my weekly legislative update. If you’re looking to hear more from the Capitol, please like me on Facebook.
As always please feel free to contact my office with any questions you might have. My office can be reached by phone at (651) 296-4913 or at sen.carrie.ruud@senate.mn.
Talk to you soon!
Carrie Ruud