Sen. Lucero visiting with the great staff at Dahlheimer Beverage Tuesday last week. Dear Friends and Neighbors, The month of March is often characterized as “In like a lamb, out like a lion” and March 2024 is certainly living up to this longstanding reputation! I hope you safely navigated the shoveling, plowing, and driving during the March snowstorms. This past Sunday was celebrated by many across the globe as the Triumphal Entry. The Triumphal Entry (also known as Palm Sunday) is the day Christ rode into the City of Jerusalem over 2,000 years ago fulfilling prophecy presenting himself as Messiah. | Sen. Lucero calls out Democrats in the Senate K-12 Education Finance Committee for their being racist in their false attempt to solving pseudo-racism. Democrats Claim White Privilege in Senate Education Committee The Democrat ‘White Privilege’ playbook will not work on me. Watch the video at the following link here where I respond to Democrats during a recent bill hearing in the Senate Education Finance Committee. Committee Deadlines Last Friday was the first and second deadline for the 2024 legislative session, meaning all bills (besides major appropriations bills) must have been acted upon in committee in order to pass this year. Over the last two weeks, I was happy to have a couple bill hearings. Despite being in the minority, I will continue pushing for the priorities of our great community on the important issues! | Sen. Lucero visiting with corrections/parole officers Tuesday last week at the MN Capitol. What Got a Hearing? SF 4373: Consent Required for electric utility providers to install a smart meter gateway device. The topic of smart meters is one I’ve received multiple concerns from constituents. Over the last several years, Xcel Energy has moved forward installing thousands of smart meters on homes across Minnesota replacing resident's analog meters without the homeowner’s affirmative consent or knowledge. While Xcel Energy promotes smart meters as a way to save consumers money by eliminating the need for an employee to travel to homes to record data from meters for billing purposes, smart meters pose significant data privacy and intrusion concerns. Smart meters allow electric utility providers the ability to capture granular information ranging from the time customers use electricity, levels of energy measured per minute or per second, and harvesting electricity usage metrics on a per appliance basis within the home. The captured information can be datamined and shared with third parties. Among the reasons Xcel Energy and other electric utility providers want customers to adopt smart meters is so electric providers can gouge customers with higher, variable, pricing rates. The combination of Democrat renewable energy mandates reducing the reliability and supply of energy along with an intrusive, variable rate billing method will lead to energy being rationed to consumers via a blend of government and corporate power punishing individuals for their consumption choices. Currently, Xcel Energy allows consumers to opt-out of receiving a smart meter, but many consumers are unaware they have this option. Moreover, customers are penalized with a $15 fine each month from Xcel Energy for opting out of receiving a smart meter. Part of the solution to correct the privacy intrusion is in my bill heard Monday last week in the Energy Committee. SF 4373 is modeled after New Hampshire's smart meter law which is the most pro-consumer version in the nation. My bill will require electric utility providers to obtain affirmative consent from customers BEFORE a smart meter may be installed and prohibits any penalties in the form of fines or decreased service as a result of a customer declining a smart meter. | SF 843: Exempting sewage septic trucks from weight exemptions for emergencies. This bill would allow sewage septic tank trucks to be exempt from road weight restrictions for the purpose of emergency pumping services. This is similar to the exemption school busses and garbage trucks currently have in statute. Current local weight restrictions can often cause delays to septic pumping services in an emergency when a permit must be obtained from local government to drive these trucks on certain roads, causing greater damage due to the delayed response. I have authored this bill for several years now, and hope this can finally be the year we see it passed into law. | What Did NOT Get a Hearing SF 3885: School disparity aid. I have carried varying versions of this bill my entire time in office as a state legislator. The Democrat majority continuously claim to support underfunded schools, but have ignored my bill that targets funding to the bottom 20%. Recently, in the Education Finance Committee, the Democrat chair mentioned she is open to hearing ideas and bills to support schools in struggling districts, and I asked her to commit to hearing my bill. She backpedaled quickly refusing to make such a commitment because the reality is Democrats are NOT truly interested in providing equitable school funding. You can watch the interaction here. | SF 4080: Uniform Commercial Code Provisions to protect property rights. With out of control inflation and other economic damage inflicted onto Americans through the policies of President Biden, more Americans have been thinking about their savings in preparation of a greater global financial crisis. Many believe the assets they keep in the bank are safe due to FDIC insuring their deposits in the event of a financial institution failing. However, the same protections are not in place for consumer regarding their investments. All 50 states over the past 25 years have adopted legislation due to the lobbying efforts of large institutions that place priority to banks for the ownership of invested assets over the actual investors. Shockingly, this means in a financial crisis, a bank can seize the assets of their customers. My bill SF 4080 would protect the property rights of customers over financial institutions, and place ownership of assets solely in the individuals who made the investments. | SF 4372: Prohibiting Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) from being recognized as money. I had this bill drafted based on language signed into law last year by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that made Florida the first state in the country to ban the use of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). CBDC would allow government surveillance of an individuals spending by allowing the government to monitor the transactions of consumers and even enforce restrictions. It's easy to envision a future where government abuses CBDC technology to restrict transactions for items such as firearms or ration other purchasing decisions. | What Will Get a Hearing? SF 4442: HOA Reform Bill Following deadline, the Chair of the Housing Committee signaled potentially giving my Home Owners Association (HOA) reform bill an informational hearing. The bill will not be able to pass this year because it is past committee deadline, but this is a big step to raising awareness of the issues some Minnesotans are having with unreasonable HOAs and will get the conversation of reform started so we can hopefully see this bill passed in the future. I'm eager to share the many stories I have heard from residents about their HOA issues, but the committee hearing directly from the residents advocating for reform is even more effective. If you are interested in testifying in support of HOA reform either in-person or over Zoom, please reach out to my office. In Other News | Sen Lucero visiting with young people from 'Elk River Boys & Girls Club' and with care providers from 'Legacy of St. Michael Senior Living' both Wednesday last week during the first week of Spring. | Sen. Lucero visiting with Saint Michael and Albertville constituents Monday last week during Insurance Day on the Hill in which they took notice of several signs in Lucero’s office. | Sen. Lucero visiting with REM Minnesota residents and support services staff Tuesday last week. Staying In Touch Each and every day I’m continuously humbled at the opportunity to represent and fight for the values and priorities of our great community! Please contact me to share any issues, concerns, or feedback you have to assist me best represent you. The best way to reach me is by email at [email protected] or by phone at 651-296-5655. Sincerely, Eric Lucero State Senator District 30 Rockford Township, Hanover, Saint Michael, Albertville, Otsego, Elk River, Nowthen, Western Oak Grove | Capitol Address 95 University Avenue W.
Minnesota Senate Bldg. 2413
St. Paul, MN 55155 651-296-5655 | |
