Minnesota House and Senate leaders released their lists of committee chairs including those lawmakers who will oversee education funding and policy. While no Minneapolis legislators will chair education committees, the newly appointed chairs are all strong supporters of public schools. Legislative leaders will announce full committee membership rosters sometime in December.
Senator Mary Kunesh (DFL - New Brighton) will chair the Senate Education Finance Committee. Senator Kunesh is a retired school media specialist who has served on the Education Committees in both the House and Senate. She is a first-time chair of this important committee.
Senator Steve Cwodzinski (DFL - Eden Prairie) will chair the Senate Education Policy Committee. Senator Cwodzinski is a retired high school social studies teacher. He also has served on the Senate Education Committee and will be chairing a committee for the first time.
Representative Cheryl Youakim (DFL - Hopkins) will chair the House Education Finance Committee. Rep. Youakim is a paraprofessional and has served on the Education Finance Committee for several years.
Representative Laurie Pryor (DFL - Minnetonka) will chair the House Education Policy Committee. Rep. Pryor serves as the vice-chair of the Early Education Finance and Policy Committee.
Several Minneapolis legislators will be chairing committees come January.
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Senator Bobby Joe Champion (Jobs and Economic Development)
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Senator Omar Fetah (Higher Education)
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Senator Kari Dziedzic (Rules and Administration)
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Senator Scott Dibble (Transportation)
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Representative Fue Lee (Capital Investment)
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Representative Hodan Hassan (Economic Development Finance)
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Representative Mohamud Noor (Human Services Finance)
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Representative Mike Howard (Housing Finance & Policy)
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Representative Aisha Gomez (Taxes)
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Representative Frank Hornstein (Transportation Finance)
To determine who will be your State Senator and State Representative come January, use the Who Represents Me look-up tool.
Once the state releases the updated budget forecast in early December, I will send out an action alert asking you to reach out to Governor Walz. Look for that in mid-December.