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Friends and Neighbors,
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This week at the Capitol we?ve seen several noteworthy bills move through committee and omnibus policy bills are beginning to come up for consideration on the House Floor. I wanted to give you a brief update on the gun control bills, Governor Walz?s budget for this session, and the felon voting issue.
First, it?s important to note that while I may refer to several of these bills as ?dead,? nothing is ever really dead in the Legislature. Waivers for deadlines exist and any proposal may just as well end up being wrapped up into an omnibus bill, or even sneakily placed into the conference committee report at the 11th hour.
The good news is that the most egregious gun control bills are ?dead? this session. Specifically, I don?t see an assault weapons ban or magazine capacity ban being passed this session. Neither bill has had a hearing and I believe that these specific bills may be too controversial to pass in an election year. What is moving, however, is the governor?s defenseless storage mandate and mandatory reporting of lost and stolen firearms. This safe storage bill is especially dangerous ? it would make you a felon if you let your 17-year-old access your rifle to go hunting after school. Keep an eye on these two proposals ? as I mentioned, they?re moving but I don?t expect them to pass these off the floor as standalone bills.
As for spending this year, it?s more of the same. Legislative leadership is spending money we don?t have in the face of a looming deficit. In fact, they?re spending twice as much as the Governor recommended with expected increases coming down the line as well.
I believe that it?s a disservice to our state to spend ourselves into a deficit, especially when you consider the fact that we started with a record-breaking surplus.
Finally, on the felon voting issue, our friends at the Upper Midwest Law Center were arguing the law in front of the Supreme Court this week. The crux of the lawsuit, as stated by them, is: ?Under the Minnesota Constitution, Article VII, Section 1, individuals convicted of a felony may not vote ?unless restored to civil rights.? A recent ruling by the Minnesota Supreme Court, Schroeder v. Simon, states that restoration of civil rights occurs upon completion of the felony sentence. The new law grants felons still under sentence, but on supervised release the ability to vote in Minnesota elections, directly contradicting constitutional law.?
You can read more about the lawsuit and the Upper Midwest Law Center HERE.
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On the Radar
One last thing that should be on your radar this week are the various land transfer bills that have been introduced this year. There are two proposals concerning the White Earth State Forest and Upper Red Lake respectively. I, along with Rep. Grossell and Sen. Steve Green, will be introducing a bill to require a supermajority vote in each chamber to approve any land transfer bills. Keep an eye out for that, and for our forthcoming Op-Ed on the issue as well.
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