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March 15, 2024

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

It has been another busy week at the Capitol! My favorite part is always having constituents visit and share their perspectives on issues being debated in various committees.? As I only hear the bills that come before the Taxes, Higher Ed and Rules Committees, this gives me an opportunity to learn about what is going on in other Committees that I won?t see until they come to the House floor.? It is like graduate school every day, with my constituents educating me about the important issues that affect their businesses and daily lives.? Thank you for taking time to come to the Capitol ? your advocacy matters!

Keep reading for updates on getting SROs back into schools, the Majority?s continued push for soft-on-crime policies, and more bill introductions and hearings.

I hope you all have a great weekend and I look forward to more visitors at the Capitol next week!

Executive Summary

• School Resource Officer bill signed into law!
• Pushing back against soft-on-crime policies
• Phone-Free Schools Bill
• Bill Introductions

School Resource Officer Bill signed into law

Governor Tim Walz signed a bill giving guidance to school resource officers into law on Thursday. After the House and Senate approved slightly different versions of the bill, the differences were rectified in a short conference committee. The House then reapproved the bill on Wednesday before the Senate sent it to Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday. It was sent to the governor?s desk seven months after the SRO controversy first arose just before the start of a new school year. KSTP has a good article on the issue here.

Pushing Back Against Soft-On-Crime Policies

This week provided a lot of opportunities to push back on the Majority?s soft-on-crime policies.

On Monday we had a press conference calling on Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty to resign after her office ignored a use-of-force expert that found no criminal conduct in the Trooper Ryan Londregan case, as reported here by the Star Tribune.

I also introduced a bill, HF 4970, that would allow city attorney?s to prosecute cases the Hennepin County Attorney declines to prosecute.? I don?t expect this authority would used regularly, as it is expensive for city?s to take on these cases, but it does give cities an option to pursue justice in cases the county attorney declines, such as happened in Maple Grove when she declined to pursue felony assault charges after an officer was dragged 40 yards.

Yesterday, House Republicans tried to declare an urgency to pass a bill which would increase the penalty for straw purchases of guns from a gross misdemeanor to a felony.? ?This is something we have been fighting for since 2019 and have offered in Committee and on the floor dozens of times.? You can view my floor speech here.

This issue came to the fore again this week when it was reported that the man who shot and killed the Burnsville officers used a gun that had been obtained through a straw purchaser. The language to make it a felony to knowingly buy or give a gun to a prohibited person, such as a felon, was actually passed with strong bipartisan support in the House last year but then was stripped out in Conference Committee by the Majority and did not become law.

As noted in my floor speech, the ATF and law enforcement have been asking us to increase the penalties for straw purchases to make it more likely these cases will actually get prosecuted.? It is a common-sense step we can take to reduce gun violence in our communities.

The Majority voted against the urgency yesterday, but I hope the bill will still be considered this session or that we can add it as a floor amendment.?

Unfortunately, the DFL Majority seems to be going in the opposite direction ? supporting policies that reduce penalties for crime rather than increasing them.? ?HF 4277 proposes a study to eliminate the mandatory minimum sentences for felons caught illegally possessing firearms.? Here?s a KSTP article that provides more detail.?

Finally, the DFL has also introduced HF 3480, which would extend the age for Juvenile Court from age 16-21 and count ?individuals aged 16 to 20 who are alleged to have committed murder in first degree? in the definition of delinquent child.? These soft-on-juvenile-crime policies are not compassionate and do not provide justice for victims.?

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Phone-Free Schools Bill

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to work across party lines to improve the learning environment in our schools by presenting HF 4581 with Representative Sandra Feist in the Education Policy Committee. ?Specifically, the bill would require a model policy be developed to help schools adopt best practices to reduce the use of cell phones during the school day.

I am very grateful that Maple Grove Junior High Principal Patrick Smith was able to join me and share how he has successfully led his school to be phone-free this year.

Despite initial concerns from parents, the new policy has been heralded as a great success by students, teachers and parents who see kids are happier, more engaged and that there is less drama and bullying during the school day.? I hope the bill will continue to make progress this session!

Bill Introductions

This week, I introduced five more bills:

HF 4768 ? This bill would provide funding to the University of Minnesota to conduct a double-study of a road-side breathalyzer test to determine if there is impairment due to marijuana.? Legalization of marijuana has led to some challenges in keeping our roads safe, and there currently is reliable roadside test for impairment available to law enforcement.? I have been working with the University, the Dept. of Public Safety, and a medical device start-up company on this issue for more than a year and the proposed study would be the first rigorous test of this type of product in the country.

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HF 4826 ? This bill would allow seniors to receive an advance credit of homestead property tax credit refund, which would effectively reduce their property tax liability by the amount of the credit they are expected to receive and ease the cash-flow burden they face when the tax payment is due. ??

I?ve heard from dozens of seniors who struggle to stay in their homes because it is hard to make the tax payments, even though they know they will eventually get the credit.? Although I am frustrated we did not pass any real tax relief last session, this advance credit will at least help seniors by reducing the amount they have to pay out of pocket.

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HF 4871 ? This bill would put some commonsense guardrails in place following the legalization of marijuana last session. Specifically, it would require the Office of Cannabis Management to limit the strength and/or the concentration of THC in cannabis flower and products while also prohibiting flavored marijuana products that could be marketed towards children. Finally, it regulates cannabis advertising and would require warnings be added to certain product labels. Many of these measures are already in place for how we regulate alcohol and tobacco, and I don?t believe that marijuana should be any different.

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HF 4881 ? This bill would similarly increase education requirements regarding marijuana, again mirroring the existing requirements for tobacco and alcohol.

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Photos of The Week

This week I had the pleasure of meeting with several groups and constituents at the Capitol!

Enjoyed meeting with the Orono Schools School Nutrition Team yesterday at the MN School Nutrition Association Day. Thanks for coming & all you do for our students!

Great discussion with business leaders from Maple Grove for Hospitality MN?s Day! They are all dealing with higher costs due to inflation & staffing challenges, which are exacerbated by new one-size fits all mandates that don?t work for part-time & seasonal staffing.

Please Contact Me

Many of you have already been in touch to discuss your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you. Thank you for sharing your ideas! Please continue to contact me to discuss any matters to which I can be of assistance. My office phone number is 651-296-7806 or by email at [email protected]. My office is located on the second floor of the State Office Building in room 225.

Have a great weekend!

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Kristin

239 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.7806