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Health & Fitness

Legislative Update — Offseason Highlights

Rep. Joe Atkins gives constituents on update on the legislature's "offseason."

The 2013 legislative session wrapped up one month ago.  In case you missed it, you can find my end-of-session summary right here on the local Patch site at: http://invergroveheights.patch.com/groups/joe-atkinss-blog/p/bp--atkins-2013-legislative-wrap-up.

Here is what's going on these days:

THE INTERIM.  The period between the end of the 2013 session and the start of the 2014 session next February is an interesting time.  The best part for most legislators is simply having more time for family and for our regular jobs.  Having time to take a bike ride with my son or watch my daughter play soccer is something I don't take for granted.

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But the interim is also a little like the off-season in baseball, where you can work on some things that will pay off the following spring.  In my case, that means studying up on emerging issues, particularly complex topics, as well as assisting individual constituents.

BILL SIGNING.  One of the bills I chief authored this session was singled out for a rare ceremonial bill signing recently.  It protects Minnesotans from wire fraud scams, which target our state's senior citizens, to the tune of over 100,000 victims and losses in excess of $4 million annually.  Although I carried the legislation, the real credit goes to the many elderly victims, their families, AARP, and Jim Arlt, a retired Senior Special Agent with the Department of Public Safety, who volunteered their time to help pass the law.

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CONGRATS... to Minnesota on having the 5th-fastest growing economy in the country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.  Also, congrats to my neighbor, Miss Minnesota Danielle Hooper, for representing our state at the Miss USA Contest last week.

THANK YOU... to the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association for naming me their Legislator of the Year. 

NEW LAWS ON JULY 1.  Several new laws go into effect on July 1st. Many are aimed at job creation, including the MN Investment Fund and the Growth Acceleration Program that will leverage greater private investment in small businesses and start-ups.  Other laws protect consumers against new types of scams.   Another law tries to clean up political campaigns, by requiring more frequent disclosure of donors and restoring Minnesota's Political Campaign Refund Law, which had been shelved for four years.  Designed to encourage small donations and decrease the influence of PAC's, lobbyists and large givers, the program provides a full refund of up to $100/couple or $50/person to those who donate to political campaigns, starting on July 1, 2013.

NEW TRADE OFFICE.  Just a few minutes ago, Gov. Dayton announced the first of three new international trade offices.  In Dusseldorf, Germany, the office is hoped to perform as well as Minnesota's Trade Office in Shanghai, China.  When it opened, Minnesota's exports to China increased 71% in the first year.  Minnesota is following Pennsylvania's lead on this.  When Pennsylvania invested $6 million in trade offices in 2011, it produced $831 million in export sales for Pennsylvania businesses and 6,800 new jobs in Pennsylvania.

As always, if you have questions or concerns, please let me know.  Feel free to comment below, or you can reach me by phone at (651) 296-4192 or by email at Rep.Joe.Atkins@house.mn.




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