Dear Friends and Neighbors, 

 

Starting next Wednesday, the legislature shuts down for the Easter/Passover break.  We'll be back at work on Tuesday the 11th.  There will be no newsletter next week but here's a summary of what happened this week. Happy Easter or Passover!  I hope you get to spend it with your loved ones. 

Last Saturday, Gun Owners converged on the capitol to hear many speakers, including me, update them on the status of their 2nd amendment rights.  At the beginning of the session, things looked bleak, with the DFL trifecta introducing bills that restricted the number of rounds in a magazine, banned guns in the capitol, requiring a certain kind of storage for firearms in your house among others.  

 

Fortunately, most of these proposals are dead, at least according to their authors.  Two others, "red flag laws" which allow the confiscation of firearms from people deemed "inappropriate" who have committed no crime and universal gun registration, are still live and in separate bills as well as the House Public Safety Omnibus bill.

 

We know that the Democrats’ Modus Operandi is to keep chipping away at your freedom until there is nothing left.  I will not compromise on our 2nd amendment rights.  

 

Today freedom lovers got more good news. A district court threw out Minnesota's restriction on 18 to 20 year olds' right to acquire a carry permit, if they qualify. The opinion in Worth, et al v. Harrington (21-cv-1348) can be viewed on the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus website.  I am proud to have authored legislation last year when I was in the Minnesota House that would have clarified this right and saved the money on a lawsuit. 

In 2021, I authored legislation in the Minnesota House that was heard by the Pension Commission that would have changed the allocation of Fire State Aid to help small Volunteer Fire Departments. The introduction and hearing of that bill prompted the Commission to create a Supplemental State Aid Work Group to study the problem of volunteer firefighter retirement, especially to understand better the disparity between rural and suburban volunteer firefighter retirement. Retirement can be a significant incentive in recruitment and retention in volunteer Fire Departments where there is less or no pay compared to full-time fire departments.

 

The report for the work group has been published.  They found that of the $5.5 million allocated to fire departments with volunteer or paid-on-call firefighters, some had local fire relief associations that handled retirement, some were in the PERA Statewide Volunteer Firefighter Plan, and roughly 15 small volunteer fire departments had no retirement coverage for their firefighters at all.

This workgroup also studied the allocation method for the $5.5 million, and unfortunately, it did not come up with a solution for handling the disparity.  They concluded that tinkering with the formula wouldn’t result in the smaller departments getting much more aid.  

 

The report suggested increasing Fire State Aid to address recruitment and retention issues with small, rural departments.

 

Next week the Pension Commission will consider legislation to increase funding for our small rural fire departments for one biennium. However, I believe that is a Band-Aid on a severe and ongoing problem in much of Greater Minnesota.  That is why I am proposing to put more funds into the fire state aid fund on an ongoing basis but allocating the money with a view to the declining number of volunteer firefighters we have in rural areas.  Volunteer firefighters help keep us safe in our small communities, and we need to recruit more younger firefighters to make that happen. Updating and reworking our formula for retirement for them is one way to do it.

We are beginning to see how the Democrats want to spend the money under the budget targets they announced. 

 

The Democrat education budget is problematic on multiple levels.

 

First, they increase education spending by 11%, but that money doesn’t go where it is needed most. They don’t put enough money into literacy, even though about half of Minnesota students cannot read at grade level. They don’t provide enough money for special education, which is a top priority of the school officials I talk to. It doesn’t have enough money going to the classroom, where it is needed most.

 

Worst of all, Democrats have added so many mandates on schools that they are actually going to lose money.

 

I want to share with you an email I received from one of the superintendents in our area, which helpfully broke down the costs they face:

 

If you focus on the lines I highlighted, you’ll see it clear as day: Democrat mandates will cost schools $1,602 per student, but they are only receiving about $1,373 per student.

 

The Democrat education budget leaves schools in a worse financial position than they were before while not doing enough to improve the state’s literacy crisis or fund special education.

This week Mayor Mark Nichols of Lake City came to to my office to talk about issues facing his city. Right now many spending decisions are happening as we build the budget bills and it was a good time to talk about Lake City's priorities. 

Please contact me to share any issues, concerns, or feedback you have to assist me in best representing you.  The best way to reach me is by email at [email protected] or by phone at 651-296-5612. My legislative assistant is Margaret Martin, and her number is 651-296-4264.  

Sincerely,

Steve Drazkowski

Minnesota Senate, District 20, Wabasha, Goodhue, Winona, Olmsted, and Dakota Counties.

2411 Minnesota Senate Building

95 University Avenue W.
Minnesota Senate Bldg.
St. Paul, MN 55155