Minnesota Senator: "Everything is moving at light speed" in legislative session

(St.Paul, MN) -- A freshman senator is sharing insights he is learning on capitol hill and clarifying details on prominent bills in Minnesota

State Senator Rob Kupec (D-MN) spoke to WDAY Radio about multiple bills working their way through the the Minnesota legislature. Sen. Kupec says his colleagues are moving quickly to process the high volume of bills.

"Everything is moving at light speed. People that I've talked to who have been around for twenty-plus years said they have never seen a January like this one," explained Sen. Kupec, who has supported several pieces of legislation in his first year in office. 

Sen. Kupec spoke in detail on two pieces of legislation that would impact all Minnesotans; The first would mandate up to 24 weeks of paid-time off for sick or parental leave, and the second that would aim to make the state mostly carbon free by 2040. The Senator supports each bill as they stand, but does have a few concerns related to the carbon credit marketplace that would be established by the bill. The credits would be purchased by energy providers who need to produce electricity with fossil fuel sources in times of emergency or high use

"The one thing that I do worry about is that if some of these off-ramps where you have to buy a carbon credit and that market gets kinda tight, especially as you approach 2040 and those carbon credits are not so readily available, I do not want to see electric rate skyrocketing," said Sen. Kupec, who explained that the carbon credit marketplace has fluctuating prices based on supply and demand. 

Sen. Kupec says other bills are in consideration for his home district, including funding for a new fire hall in Dillworth, additional funding for flood control in Moorhead, and a bill focused on funding in Detroit Lakes and a ball field in the city.