Joseph R. Hoppe (born December 13, 1964) is an American politician and former member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

. A member of the

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Minnesota and the oldest active political party in the state. Founded in 1855, the party is headquartered in Edina, Minnesota, E ...

, he represented District 47B, which included portions of Carver County in the southwestern part of the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

metropolitan area. Before becoming a politician, Hoppe worked as a local businessman and in communications.

Education and early life

Hoppe graduated from Watertown High School in Watertown. Hoppe went on to Saint John's University in Collegeville, earning a BA in History.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Hoppe was first elected to the

in 2002, and was re-elected every two years until retiring in 2018. He faced no opposition in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Hoppe is a member of the Minnesota Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus. Since 2015, Hoppe has served as chair of the House Commerce & Regulatory Reform Committee. He previously served as the committee chair from 2011–12. Rep. Hoppe also serves as vice-chair of the Life Insurance & Financial Planning Committee in the National Council of Insurance Legislators. In 2017, Rep. Hoppe authored legislation to provide emergency premium relief in response to the individual health insurance market crisis. The bill included historic reform of Minnesota's insurance laws to increase options and competition for individuals, farmers and small businesses, as well as protect consumers from surprise medical bills. It passed the Minnesota House with broad bipartisan support by a vote of 108–19 and was signed by Governor

Mark Dayton Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of Minnesota, 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He served as a United States Senate, United States Senator representing Minneso ...

. Rep. Hoppe was the co-author of legislation to ensure women at risk of breast cancer have access to 3D mammograms through insurance, and has advocated for increased state support for mental health programming. He has opposed the state-run MNsure insurance website. During his tenure as committee chair, Hoppe oversaw major efforts to modernize the state's alcohol laws in response to increasing consumer demand for Minnesota craft beer, spirits and wine.

Personal life

Hoppe is married to Deanne, a public school administrator, and has two children. He is Catholic. Hoppe is a long-time member of the Chaska Cubs board of directors, and is a past board member of the McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement at the

College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University are two closely related private, Benedictine liberal arts colleges in Minnesota. The College of Saint Benedict is a college for women in St. Joseph and Saint John's University is a u ...

. He is a hunter and angler, and participated in the 2011 Governor's Fishing Opener with

Speaker

Kurt Zellers Kurt Zellers (born October 16, 1969) is an American politician who served as speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013 and minority leader from 2009 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represente ...

and Governor

. He also attended the Governor's Pheasant Hunting Opener in 2011 and 2017. In 2015, Governor Dayton attended Thanksgiving Dinner at the home of Rep. Hoppe.

References

External links

Project Votesmart – Rep. Joe Hoppe Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoppe, Joe 1964 births Living people People from Watertown, Minnesota Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University alumni People from Chaska, Minnesota 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature