The State Capitol was awash with committee hearings this week as new and returning members began the important work of framing individual committee priorities, setting procedural rules, and learning about the work of the House and Senate’s 56 different legislative committees, subcommittees, and divisions. Traditionally, the first week of hearings involves overview presentations of each committee’s work and provides members with an opportunity to hear from nonpartisan staff and state agencies or other institutions over which the committees maintain jurisdiction.
The State Capitol was awash with committee hearings this week as new and returning members began the important work of framing individual committee priorities, setting procedural rules, and learning about the work of the House and Senate’s 56 different legislative committees, subcommittees, and divisions.
Traditionally, the first week of hearings involves overview presentations of each committee’s work and provides members with an opportunity to hear from nonpartisan staff and state agencies or other institutions over which the committees maintain jurisdiction. Some committees followed this route this week, while others jumped right into hearings on critical issues facing the state.
The University of Minnesota was an active participant in these discussions. On Tuesday, President Kaler presented our biennial budget request to the Senate Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee, and then presented an overview of the University system to the House Higher Education Finance and Policy Division. We are grateful to the students, faculty, and staff who joined the president in these presentations.
In addition to the two higher education committee hearings, legislative committee chairs in the House and Senate invited University faculty and staff to present their work to seven committees this week. Topics included agriculture funding, early childhood development, capital investment, climate change, and aquatic invasive species, among others. Many of the committees utilized University expertise to set a baseline understanding of the issues their committee members will discuss over the next five months, and we expect these conversations with University faculty and leaders to continue.
Finally, the University’s Twin Cities campus welcomed nearly 400 advocates to the McNamara Center Monday morning at the campus’s annual Legislative Action Kickoff Breakfast, and many more attended Thursday’s breakfast on the Rochester campus. Attendees at both events learned about advocacy at the University of Minnesota, best practices, and how to engage. Thank you to everyone who participated in our legislative kickoff breakfasts in Crookston, Duluth, Rochester, and the Twin Cities, and to those planning to attend our kickoff event in Morris on January 22.
Advocacy remains a key component of our strategy in support of the University—and your advocacy is working. The number of advocacy contacts to elected officials in 2018 was over 94% higher than the year before, and nearly 40 times higher than 2015. It is clear our elected officials are hearing from you about the importance of the University to Minnesota. We encourage you to remain engaged or, if you haven’t already, join our advocacy efforts at UMN Advocates.