Friends and neighbors,

The 2023 legislative session is underway, and there are a lot of pressing issues that need our utmost attention this year. 

Families continue to face skyrocketing inflation and rising energy costs, and I have heard from many constituents that they are struggling to afford everyday life. That is why it’s critical to provide meaningful tax relief to hardworking Minnesotans. And I am pleased to share that we have already taken an important step to achieve that. 

An early-session accomplishment is the passage of the tax conformity bill to provide more than $100 million in tax relief for small businesses and individuals. This legislation is a perfect example of how we can utilize bipartisan agreements to improve the lives of Minnesotans. And as session continues, I will work across the aisle to provide further tax relief to working families and retirees. The full elimination of the Social Security income tax remains one of my top priorities.

Additionally, during this session, I have the privilege to serve as the Republican lead of the Senate Education Policy Committee. There is much work to be done to mitigate the negative effects that the pandemic has had on our children’s education. Therefore, I am working with committee members on policies to ensure all Minnesota students receive a high-quality education. I believe it is extremely critical for parents to be involved in their child’s education, and I will continue to prioritize policies that offer this transparency.

Last session, Senate Republicans pushed for significant funding for proven, scientific methods of reading instruction. I strongly believe that we must continue this important conversation and focus on how to reverse Minnesota’s declining literacy rates. We need to get back to the basics and advance the core function of public education: the ability to read.

I have also heard from many Minnesota employers about their need to ensure greater access to paid family leave. Minnesota families want to see expanded availability of this benefit, and businesses want to make this available to their employees. To meet both needs, I authored legislation that would take a free-market approach and offer a program through private insurance. 

Instead of creating a massive new government program, my approach would create an insurance product precisely tailored to paid family leave. Businesses can then customize it based on their employees’ individual needs, and it would help them afford to provide for paid family leave through insurance. 

The need for improved childcare access and affordability is another issue I have heard from many constituents on. As families across Minnesota are all too aware, childcare is both difficult to find and extremely expensive. To address this, I believe it is critical for us to ease excessive state regulations that drive up the cost of childcare, such as child-staff ratios and group size limits.

As the session advances, I will continue to fight for policies that will improve the lives of Minnesotans and make our state an even better place to raise a family.

Sincerely,

Julia