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*April 14, 2023*






Dear Friends,

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. The legislature is back after our Easter/Passover break, and we have hit the ground running as we begin debate on omnibus budget bills. These bills will form our state budget for the next two years. This work is being done while Minnesota has a $17.5 billion surplus. As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, I review all these bills before they come to the House floor. Unfortunately, Democrats are pushing excessive spending proposals, so they are currently pushing $9.5 billion in new taxes to pay for all their new government programs. In other words, you?re not going to see the surplus returned to you.

There is no reason to raise taxes on hardworking Minnesotans when we have a historic budget surplus. I will not be supporting any bill that does not provide our hardworking families with permanent, meaningful tax relief.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
*National Prescription Drug Take Back Day*

Saturday, April 22 is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. I encourage you to find your local take back location to drop off unused prescription drugs so that they can be disposed of safely. When these drugs get in the wrongs hands, it can often lead to dangerous and even tragic circumstances.

Find a take back location near you here [ [link removed] ].



*Elections Bill*

Last night, Democrats passed the most partisan elections bill in Minnesota history. We used to have a tradition of all elections bills having bipartisan support. This bill passed with zero Republicans voting ?yes?.

The Democrats? election bill was full of troubling provisions including:


* *Providing automatic voter registration*.?Under this bill, when you sign up for a driver's license or State ID, you will automatically be registered to vote. Additionally, when enrolling for MN Care you will be automatically registered to vote unless you opt out. In 2018, the Office of the Legislative Auditor found that the Statewide Voter Registration System was overtaxed and needed to be modernized. There has been no proof that these concerns have been addressed. If our voter registration system is not adequate, we could see significant problems especially since Drivers' License For All is now state law;
* *Creating a permanent absentee voter list*. Voters who register for the list will receive absentee ballots automatically instead of receiving a registration form for the absentee ballot;
* *Expanding the definition of express advocacy*.?With this provision, more speech will be regulated, and it will have a chilling effect on campaign speech which the U.S. Supreme Court has protected; and
* *Prohibiting ?foreign-influenced corporations? from engaging in the political process*.?While this sounds like a good thing, in reality it creates a confusing standard for what is ?control? of a corporation. Corporations headquartered here may have shareholders outside of the country and they will no longer be allowed to exercise their right to free speech.

I encourage you to reach out to Senators and express your concerns with this bill. We cannot have election law in Minnesota that will regulate campaign speech, limit engagement in the political process, and threaten election integrity.

*Higher Education Omnibus Bill*

On Wednesday, the House debated the Higher Education Omnibus bill. This legislation will give the Office of Higher Education, the University of Minnesota, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and the Mayo Foundation an 18.5% budget increase. It makes no sense to give the Office of Higher Education a budget increase when enrollments have been declining for 10 years.

As a member of the Higher Education Committee, I have been advocating this session to provide more funding for safety on our campuses and to hold administration accountable. Republicans offered an amendment to increase funding for campus safety, but unfortunately Democrats refused to accept it. We also offered and amendment to cap the president?s salary at the University of Minnesota to 350% of the Governor?s salary. Why should the president make an exorbitant salary when enrollments have been declining for years now? We need to hold administration accountable and ensure that our colleges and universities are attracting students.

This bill funded administration, not students. Minnesota has a wonderful tradition of higher education, but this bill failed to support the goal of investing in the instruction of our young adults. I voted ?no? on this bill.






Please Contact Me

I encourage you to please contact me with any questions or input by phone at 651-296-4231 or by email at [email protected].

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335 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph. 651.296.4231







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