Having trouble viewing this email?? [ [link removed] ]View it as a Web page [ [link removed] ].






Wiens Header




*April 14, 2023*






Dear Friends,

I hope you had a great Easter and Passover. The legislature reconvened this week and we began debating the omnibus budget bills. These bills will form the new two-year state budget, which we are putting together while Minnesota has a $17.5 billion surplus. With a surplus of this size, we should be focused for the rest of session on permanent, meaningful tax relief to support our families. Unfortunately, current proposals show tax _increases_ of $9.5 billion.

We can?t raise taxes on Minnesotans when they are facing higher prices for gas, groceries, and energy bills. We need to fully eliminate the tax on social security to support our seniors and find more ways to cut taxes for all. I will be working for you and your pocketbook throughout the end of session to make sure the surplus is returned to you.

I am pleased to share that the House unanimously approved a bill last night to provide $40 million to replenish the state?s disaster assistance contingency account. As the snow melts and the water starts to rise along the St. Croix River, this funding will help our community and state as we face flooding and other natural disasters.

Unfortunately, the House also passed last night the most partisan elections bill in Minnesota history. Our state had a longstanding tradition of bipartisan support for any elections bill before it came to the House floor, but the Majority decided to buck that practice with this bill. It contained several 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.

The bill passed on a party line vote. Minnesotans deserve free and fair elections, but this legislation will regulate campaign speech, limit engagement in the political process, and threaten election integrity. I encourage you to reach out to your Senators and urge them to not support this bill.

Next week, we are expecting to debate the Education omnibus bill. Empowering our parents, teachers, and school boards to work together to give our students the best education possible should be the goal of this bill. Unfortunately, the current $2.2 billion proposal is long on new mandates instead of focusing on school safety, literacy, and more local control. I will continue standing up for parents and educators to give them more power in the classroom, instead of the Department of Education.






Please Contact Me

Please continue to reach out if I can be of any assistance to you. You can reach me by phone at 651-296-4244 or by email at [email protected].

Have a great weekend!?

Wiens signature

?



Mark











Facebook Icon [ [link removed] ]

?

/RepMarkWiens [ [link removed] ]





353 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.4244







________________________________________________________________________

Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page [ [link removed] ]. You will need to use your email address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please visit subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com [ [link removed] ].

This service is provided to you at no charge by Minnesota House GOP [ [link removed] ].

________________________________________________________________________

This email was sent to [email protected] using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Minnesota House GOP ? 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. ? Saint Paul, MN 55155 GovDelivery logo [ [link removed] ]