This week the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA) held a reception in St. Paul to share their goals for the session and the policy changes they would like to see going forward. This was a great opportunity to hear directly from the men and women who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe. They face many challenges in their work and we should be finding ways to support them. I also had the opportunity to speak with some of our local police about what issues they see most commonly in our area. Thank you to all of our peace officers and the work they do across our great state.

We?re about to have an expensive few weeks for Minnesotans as omnibus budget bills start to come to the House Floor. The first to the floor this week was the Higher Education bill which includes an 18.5% increase in spending even as we are seeing enrolment down. While provisions like a tuition freeze are important, I can?t support this bill with its unchecked spending. This is what we will likely see in most of the omnibus budget bills with double-digit budget increases.

The spending is out of control. We have a 17.5 Billion Dollar surplus and yet House Democrats have already proposed over $4 Billion in new taxes and fees; a number that is likely continuing to grow. Minnesotans are hurting in the Biden-Walz economy with record-breaking inflation and we should be using this surplus to provide relief, not create more strife.

Coming up next week will be the Education Finance and Policy omnibus bills with a number of bad policy decisions as well as numerous unfunded mandates. These mandates are so excessive that even with a 2 Billion Dollar increase in the budget many districts will actually spend more to meet these requirements than they will be receiving to pay for them. Thank you to all of the school board members, principals, and educators who have contacted me to share their concerns about this bill. I will have more to share next week at the final version of the legislation comes to the House Floor.

What are your priorities for education and local control? Share your thoughts with me and have a great weekend!