
BONNIE'S LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES
Minnesota is rated one of the best quality-of-life states. But we still face many challenges. Here are Bonnie's top legislative priorities.
Transportation
I will work to fund a comprehensive transportation package, including a long-term plan for repairing and maintaining our transportation infrastructure, which will lift more Minnesotans out of poverty, expand transit service in rural communities, and help narrow racial disparities.
- Efficient, affordable, and accessible transportation
- Rapid transit lines across the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, that will help put 500,000 more Minnesotans within a 30-minute commute of jobs
- Modernized gas tax dedicated to our roads and bridges
Job creation and the economy
I will help develop an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few.
- Keep Minnesota a competitive place to do business, for small, family-owned businesses and large companies alike
- Create more opportunities for low-income Minnesotans to fully engage in the economy
- Institute paid time off for employees to care for a sick family member or new baby
- Help and encourage employers to recruit, attract, train and retain a more diverse workforce
- Ensure paid time for sick leave
- Confront the challenge of racial and economic disparities
- Invest in the infrastructure of our colleges and universities, which are facing facility needs, such as repairing leaking roofs and cracked walls
- Invest in the maintenance of our economic infrastructure, including bonding investments that create good-paying jobs and increase private investment opportunities
- Increase private investment
- Improve incomes for all Minnesotans so that everyone has the opportunity to earn a good living, support their family, and retire securely
- Strengthen our state's economy
- Invest in minority-owned businesses and small businesses
Education
I will work to eliminate the achievement/opportunity gap, expand learning opportunities, and ensure that Minnesota continues to have one of the most highly educated workforces in the nation.
- Increase funding for early childhood and k-12 education
- Attract and retain quality teachers
- Adopt student loan forgiveness programs
- Ensure proper funding for all schools, regardless of their zip code
- Invest in professional development for our educators
- Work toward a better ratio of students to school counselors (currently 754 to 1)
- Implement high quality preschool for 4-year-olds and push for more investment in early childhood education
- Improve education at every level
- Making higher education more affordable by holding down tuition costs and reducing student debt
Healthcare
I want to hold up “the Minnesota Model” of healthcare delivery as a way to make our healthcare systems more cost-effective by rewarding health care providers for outcomes rather than paying them for the number of services they provide. As your State Senator, I will:
- Promote policies that reward healthcare providers for outcomes rather than more expensive fee-per-service healthcare delivery
- Hold insurance companies accountable for their responsibility to cover mental healthcare services just as they cover physical healthcare
- Provide access to affordable high-quality healthcare and improved health outcomes
- Invest in services for seniors in nursing homes, children in our mental health system, the working poor to ensure access to quality care for all of our citizens
- Ensure adequate support for the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) and other prevention initiatives
- Develop our mental health system to better meet the needs of Minnesotans who have mental illnesses and/or chemical dependency issues