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Council Meeting Minutes for December 18, 2023 <br />Page 2 of 11 <br />Approval of Minutes for the December 13, 2023 Dellwood Ridge Neighborhood Meeting <br />Petryk made motion, Strub seconded, to approve the minutes for the Dellwood Ridge <br />Neighborhood meeting held on December 13, 2023, as presented. <br />All Ayes. Motion carried. <br />Approval of Agenda <br />Miron made motion, Klein seconded, to approve the agenda as presented. <br />All Ayes. Motion carried. <br />Senator Karin Housley <br />Senator Karin Housley was in attendance to present information on the past legislative session. <br />Senator Housley explained she was serving her fourth term and became Hugo’s representative <br />when she took Roger Chamberlain’s place after redistricting. She said it was a rough year with <br />the house and senate being ruled by democrats and things went far to the left with everything that <br />was approved during the session. <br />Going into the session, there was 17.5 billion dollars in surplus that was spent in the first four <br />and a half months, and they then increased taxes by ten billion more dollars. She said she was <br />very worried about more things to come that will increase taxes, and she felt most Minnesotans <br />want someone watching over government spending. Everyone in the House was up for <br />reelection in 2024, and Housley said it remained to be seen what the people want. <br />Housley talked about the new laws in 2023 that included the Earned Safe and Sick Time and the <br />Family Paid Leave Law. She said she receives most calls on this, especially from small business <br />that are very impacted, and many are moving over the border to Wisconsin. At the first of the <br />year, the minimum wage will also be increased 2.5%. Menstrual products need to be offered in <br />all bathrooms from fourth to twelfth grade, and MN sports license plates and blackout license <br />will be available as of January 1. Housley had proposed a bill to privatize driver license exams <br />to deal with the problem of getting appointments, but instead they have set up a website to <br />improve scheduling. <br />Housley said she sits on the Housing Committee, Jobs Committee, and is the Republican <br />Minority Lead for the Bonding Committee. This is supposed to be a bonding year. She has <br />heard they are planning on doing another one-million bonding bill and they are getting feedback <br />on what projects people want. Housley talked about the necessity of tweaking the language for <br />school resource officers to make sure they can do their job to the fullest. <br />Housley concluded by saying it was an honor to represent Hugo at the State Capitol and working <br />with the Council. She said she appreciated Bear’s support with bill language and knowledge on <br />water issues. Miron expressed appreciation for her support at the Capital.