Friends and neighbors, 

This week at the Capitol, my Senate colleagues and I passed significant legislation addressing issues impacting our state. Highlights include bills that support Minnesota Veterans, address declining reading scores in schools, and respond to the opioid crisis.

To meet the current needs of Veterans across our state, the Minnesota Senate unanimously passed legislation that makes critical investments in Veteran services. This bill contains provisions that provide post-service resources, expand housing options, and fund enlistment and re-enlistment bonuses.

Notably, this bill funds upgrades to the three new Veterans homes in Bemidji, Preston, and Montevideo. Last year, these homes secured federal funding necessary to complete construction, but due to the gap in the timeline, certain projects had to be removed in order to meet the original budget. The funding in this session’s bill, therefore, goes towards the design, construction, and equipping of site and building improvements that were not funded through the initial appropriation.

The Veterans bill also provides vital funding for an enlistment and re-enlistment bonus program. This will serve as an incentive for retaining and recruiting servicemembers to assure our Veterans can compete with the modern workforce.

Finally, the bill also includes language to honor the historical tradition of providing bonuses to service members that served during global conflicts. With the end of the Global War on Terror last year, the bill allocates $24 million for post-war bonuses to Minnesota Veterans that served after Sept. 11, 2001.  

As a Vietnam era Veteran, support for our Minnesota Veterans has been a strong focus of mine. I am honored to have supported this legislation, which I know will offer great assistance to brave men and women who served our nation.

Another key piece of legislation passed this week is an education bill to reverse Minnesota’s continuously declining literacy scores. Currently, Minnesota testing scores indicate that an astounding 40% of students are unable to read at grade level.

The education bill addresses this by instructing school boards to develop a public, accountable plan that will achieve 90% reading proficiency by third grade. It also provides funding to provide all Minnesota teachers with indispensable training in the science of reading instruction and refocuses Regional Centers of Excellence to prioritize literacy.

The Senate Republican’s dedication to improving literacy follows historic education bills that have fully funded K-12 schools, including $18.6 billion in total education funding in 2017, 2% annual student formula increases in 2019, and $1.1 billion in funding increases in 2021 – the largest formula growth in 15 years.

Literacy serves as a central skill that sets up students for future success in school and throughout their lives. It’s time to help schools focus on the basics, and I am proud to have supported this legislation to ensure all students have the opportunity to learn this essential skill. 

Additionally, in 2021, Minnesota joined nationwide settlements with opioid distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen, and manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. This led to more than 3,000 lawsuits against these companies for their role in the opioid crisis that has devastated families. 

And recently, the Senate approved legislation that effectively ratifies the terms of the opioid settlement agreements. In Minnesota, every county and more than 140 cities have signed onto the settlement. This bill makes various changes to our state’s landmark opioid bill from 2019 to capture the settlement funds, and represents an agreement between the state, local governments, and opiate manufacturers. 

Under the terms of the settlements, the state of Minnesota, cities, and counties are set to receive more than $300 million over the next 18 years. In our community, Wright County is anticipated to receive nearly $4 million. This funding will be used for opioid supports like treatment and recovery programs and educational campaigns to raise awareness about the public health crisis. 

I want to hear from you, my constituents, on issues that are important to you. Please feel free to reach out to my office with any concerns or ideas you may have. As session moves forward, I will keep your thoughts and concerns in mind as legislation comes before me. You can contact my office at sen.bruce.anderson@senate.mn or 651-296-5981.

Sincerely,

Bruce Anderson