Jamie Becker-Finn facts for kids

Jamie Becker-Finn (born October 20, 1982) is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2017. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Becker-Finn represents District 42B in the northeastern Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Roseville and Shoreview and parts of Ramsey County, Minnesota.

Early life, education, and career

Becker-Finn was born on October 20, 1982. Her father, Harold "Skip" Finn, was a Minnesota state senator of Ojibwe and Norwegian descent, and her mother, Teri, is also of Norwegian descent. Becker-Finn was raised in Cass Lake, Minnesota, on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, where she graduated from Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools. She attended the University of Minnesota, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. She later attended William Mitchell College of Law, graduating with a Juris Doctor.

Becker-Finn is an assistant attorney for Hennepin County, specializing in domestic violence. She was a legislative assistant for the Minnesota House Tax Committee from 2007 to 2008, a clerk for the Minnesota Fourth District Court in Hennepin County, and a member of the Roseville Parks and Recreation Commission.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Becker-Finn was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016 and has been reelected every two years since. She first ran after two-term DFL incumbent Jason Isaacson announced he would seek election to the Minnesota State Senate.

In 2018, Becker-Finn was an early endorser of Ilhan Omar for Minnesota's 5th congressional district. She served on Attorney General Keith Ellison's transition team.

Becker-Finn has chaired the Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee since 2021, and sits on the Public Safety Finance and Policy, Ways and Means, and Workforce Development Finance and Policy Committees. From 2019 to 2020, she served as an assistant majority leader for the DFL House Caucus and vice chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee. Becker-Finn is a member of the House People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus, and the Reproductive Freedom Caucus. After the 2020 election, she unsuccessfully challenged Ryan Winkler for the role of Majority Leader of the House.

Judiciary and public safety

After the police murder of George Floyd, Becker-Finn called on the Republican-controlled State Senate to "support meaningful legislation to address systemic racism and police brutality". After the police killing of Daunte Wright, she called for reforms on traffic stop procedure. She authored bipartisan legislation that would eliminate driver's license suspensions for minor offenses.

Becker-Finn authored legislation to increase funding for public defenders that passed unanimously in the Minnesota House. In the midst of a vote from public defenders to go on strike, she held hearings on the lack of investment in public defenders, criticizing the Board of Public Defense for not asking for more funding in the past.

Becker-Finn offered an unsuccessful amendment to a 2017 public safety omnibus bill that would have increased penalties for protesters who block freeways, arguing it is a limit on free speech. ..... She has supported restoring the right to vote to felons on parole. Becker-Finn authored legislation mandating gun owners to keep firearms in a locked container when not in use.

Becker-Finn attending listening sessions at women's prisons to discuss issues related to pregnant women and mothers of young children. Minnesota became the first state in the nation to stop separating moms in prison from their babies.

Environment and natural resources

Becker-Finn opposed the Enbridge Line 3 oil pipeline project, a tar sands line that would run through tribal land, saying it "is never going to be my public policy perspective". In 2017, she opposed Republican efforts to remove regulatory requirements for the project, speaking against the provision on the House floor. She later authored a bill to give the Department of Natural Resources more tools to penalize water permit violations.

She has sponsored legislation to increase outdoor education opportunities for Minnesota children and disadvantaged communities, including passing the bipartisan "No Child Left Inside" program. She has supported calls to address water contamination by microplastics, lead and salt. She co-sponsored a bill that would have imposed a four-year moratorium on new large dairy farms, and a bill to evaluate native "rough" fish populations. In 2019, Becker-Finn authored legislation that banned nonessential use of firefighting foam that contains PFAS chemicals due to their health and environmental risks.

Chronic wasting disease

An avid hunter, Becker-Finn has led efforts to address chronic wasting disease in the deer population. She has been a longtime supporter of tougher restriction on Minnesota's deer farms, and has criticized the Board of Animal Health's oversight of the industry. She passed a bill requiring owners to euthanize their herd when CWD is found, double-gate their properties, and undergo mandatory inspections to prevent further spread. Her proposals have been largely supported by deer hunters but opposed by lobbyists from the deer farm association. Becker-Finn has also authored other measures, like a state-funded buyout of deer farms, increased fencing, and a deer farm moratorium, that have not passed due to opposition in the Republican Senate. She has supported funding research efforts to better understand the disease and develop tests for use in deceased and live deer.

Native American issues

In 2019, Becker-Finn sponsored a measure to rename Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis, named after John C. Calhoun, to its Dakota name, Bde Maka Ska. The provision passed the House but not the Senate, and the lake was renamed by the Department of Natural Resources after a court appeals process. Becker-Finn has carried many tribe-specific bills, including legislation that requires that when the state sells property within a reservation it must first offer to sell it to the tribe. She supported legislation that created a task force on missing and murdered Native women.

Becker-Finn has spoken out publicly against offensive Native American depictions such as those in Halloween costumes and professional sports teams mascots. She has also criticized the Minnesota state seal, which depicts a Native American being driven away by a settler with a rifle nearby.

Electoral history

Personal life

Becker-Finn and her husband, Gabe, reside in Roseville, Minnesota. They have two children. Becker-Finn is a descendant of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. She is a lifelong hunter and fisher.