‘Raise the Wage’ advocates held a rally at the State Capitol
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From left to right: Senator Bev Scalze (DFL-Little Canada), Senator Chris Eaton (DFL-Brooklyn Center), Senator Foung Hawj, and Senator Patricia Torres Ray (DFL-Minneapolis).
ST. PAUL (Feb. 25, 2014) — The 2014 Legislative Session convened on Tuesday with the state in radically better shape than it was a year ago.
To help kickoff the start of session, ‘Raise the Wage’ advocates held a rally at the State Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday afternoon urging immediate action to raise the state’s minimum wage to $9.50 an hour. As a strong supporter of increasing the state’s minimum wage, Sen. Foung Hawj (DFL-St. Paul) joined Majority Leader Bakk and several other legislators at the rally.
“I have spoken with community members and business owners throughout my district and the majority of my constituents support raising the minimum wage,” Hawj said. “Even businesses that sit on the edge between being a small and large business understand the greater good of supporting a minimum wage increase.”
In addition to minimum wage, Sen. Foung Hawj said passing a bonding bill that includes several projects in his district remains a top priority. Metro State’s bonding request of $35.86 million to build a Science Education Center is one of the largest requests in Sen. Hawj’s district.
Other bonding projects in his district include the Hmong-Lao Veterans Memorial, the Lower Phalen Creek Project at the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, and the Battle Creek Winter Recreation Area.
“Passing a comprehensive bonding bill will be an important part of this legislative session,” Hawj said. “I have spent time on some of the bonding tours when the Capital Investment Committee visited St. Paul, and I look forward to seeing a final bill that includes funding for some of these projects that will make a big difference in our community.”
Sen. Hawj welcomes your questions and comments; you can contact him by email at [email protected] or by calling his office at 651-296-5285.
