Legislative Results

Promoting affordable, quality health care

• Increased access to affordable coverage
• Enabling most workers to pay insurance premiums with pre-tax dollars, an option now available mostly in large businesses (can reduce costs up to 30%)
• Stabilizing cost growth while improving quality
• Promoting the faster adopt of medical discoveries
• Promoting care coordination when facing serious disease – better outcomes with less stress on families
• Diane co-chaired insurance reform and led the effort to promote life-saving prevention

Helping homeowners and renters

• 25% increase in the maximum property tax refund
• Diane worked to make more aware of property tax refunds (1/3 of those eligible don’t apply)
• Rejected the Governor’s renters credit cuts
• Increased funding so local governments can meet our needs without major tax increases

Looking out for N.E. neighborhoods

• Ongoing funding for neighborhood revitalization
• $ 24 million to replace the Lowry Bridge.
• Funding for St. Anthony Parkway Bridge (vetoed)
• Funding to remove and replace diseased trees.
• $100,000 for All Wars Memorial Park and Gardens on the Northeast riverfront
• Tackling the problems of foreclosure
• Riverfront Revitalization Organization to promote area plans for more green space and balanced redevelopment.

Supporting Education

• In spite of a tough budget – granted an additional 1% to the schools.Will bring $   more to Minneapolis Schools.
• Launched school finance reform.
• Increased funds for pre-school screening – kids thrive when problems are addressed early.
• Acted to control the cost of higher education and increase financial aid.

Increasing public safety

• Sex offender provisions strengthened
• Stronger protection for victims of domestic abuse
• Strong responses to dangerous dogs and animal fighting (no breed specific provisions)
• Penalties for disarming an officer
• Striving to improve re-entry and drug offense outcomes through new approaches

Safe and Reliable Transportation

• Replacing state bridges that are fracture critical and need repair and funding local bridges (Lowry Ave)
• Road investments to reduce gridlock (a major reason for the loss of good jobs in our area)
• Funded by a gas tax increase dedicated to roads and bridges - will reduce property taxes used for these purposes over time.
• Dedicated sales tax funding for transit to improve air quality and reduce energy use and congestion
• New teen drivers will have restrictions in the first year to reduce accidents and deaths

Protecting the Environment

• Many initiatives on energy conservation, reducing greenhouse gases, and nurturing wind energy
• Major bond funds for pollution clean up, habitat protection, clean water and Lake Vermillion Park
• Voters will have a chance to dedicate funds to do more to protect our environment and wildlife habitat, and support our parks, the arts and arts education, and other cultural resources.

Responsibly managing our government

• A balanced budget – despite a billion dollar shortfall due to a faltering economy
• Closed tax loopholes for companies with offices in other countries.
• Government reform – better info for making decisions, more emphasis on long term planning
• A bonding bill that emphasizes maintaining what we own and promoting the development of good jobs
• Diane is chief author of restoration of the State Capitol – its beautiful  dome leaks!