Squatter Problem is here in Minnesota

You may have read on the internet or seen stories on TV about the increasing problem of squatters taking over people’s homes while they are away on vacation or elsewhere. Georgia, Florida, and Texas are experiencing the most problems. There was even an infamous case of a man who, having entered the US illegally from Venezuela, posted TikTok videos about how to squat in houses while committing other crimes until he was caught in Ohio.

Minnesota has not been immune to this problem, so far, it's mostly in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. There is no such thing as “squatters rights” in Minnesota except in very narrow circumstances. In order to claim an “adverse possession,” someone has to have been living in a property for 15 years and paid taxes on the property for five years to claim a property. This can happen in cases where someone dies without the title being assigned or inherited by someone else and a person, usually a relative, has been living in the home during that time and paying taxes on it.

It does not occur when someone breaks into a house and starts living there, unauthorized. That is trespassing or even burglary. However, squatters in some parts of the state have taken advantage of lenient judges and prosecutors who would rather not take these sometimes complicated cases. In recent years, Democrats have put their thumb on the scale in favor of tenants and against landlords, with some squatters claiming to be tenants to illicitly get the protection of these laws. Governor Walz decreed a 2-year moratorium on evictions during COVID-19. Bad tenants got to stay, often without paying rent which further eroded property rights.

Property rights are a cornerstone of any society. Without them, every other civil institution is undermined.

This week, Senator Zaynab Mohammed brought another tenant rights bill to the Senate floor. This one requires landlords to allow outside parties (“Tenant organizers”) access to their buildings and tenants. It also gives tenants more freedom to end a lease while placing further requirements on landlords in an eviction process. I tried to balance her bill by bringing an amendment that allowed for a fair but expedited eviction process for squatters. Democrats voted it down.

Bills and priorities: Where we are at

Last week, we passed several omnibus bills off the floor and over to the House.

The Labor bill continues the trend toward the increase in costs and regulation on employers by mandating what employers must provide their employees, no matter the industry or size of the company. We are still trying to find our way back to job growth after COVID, and the state should not be making it more costly for an employer to hire somebody. Unfortunately, this is exactly what the Democrat leadership is doing.

The Education bill had more unfunded mandates. Nearly all of the school districts in District 20 have contacted me, this year or last, regarding the budget busting effects of the approximately 60 new mandates placed on them by the Democrat trifecta. If you wonder why your school district may be making cuts and asking for more money, it’s because the Democrats and Governor Walz are giving them more to do and increasing their employer and compliance costs just as they are with businesses. For this reason, I authored SF 5231 to allow school districts to hit the pause button on these new mandates to give them time to absorb the shock and for the legislature to reconsider the total impact of all these changes. Unfortunately, it's unlikely to get a hearing.

The Commerce bill contains a provision similar in effect to one I authored to allow smaller amounts of non-oxygenated fuel to be bought in bulk and stored. A constituent brought this bill idea to Rep. Altendorf and me. This would allow RV parks and other small and mid-sized fuel customers to buy and keep fuel supplies.

The Capital Investment Committee has not convened to discuss their omnibus bill yet, but I am still hopeful that local projects like our multi-community drinking water bill and Wabasha’s highway realignment project will be included. My focus continues to be on infrastructure-related projects where communities have done their best to prioritize their requests, raise a match and have a sustainable plan for the future costs of the project.

Another issue that interests many of you is the possibility of the elimination of the shotgun zone in southern Minnesota during deer hunting season. I have worked to bring this about for several years after studying research that shows that shotguns are no safer than rifles and that rifles may in fact be safter. Wisconsin’s experience in eliminating shotgun-only zones is that hunting accidents continue to go down. There is language in the Senate Environment Bill that would remove the shotgun-only area in Southern and Southwestern Minnesota and but allow several counties to continue to require shotguns only until they decide to end their shotgun-only designation. I would prefer the entire state to remove the zone but until people understand the safety issue better, there will continue to be resistance by some counties. If you are in one of these areas, please read my column on this, and the associated data and share with your neighbors.

Squatter Problem is here in Minnesota

Bills and priorities: Where we are at

It's Severe Weather Week

Gun Rally at the capitol on April 27--bus to the capitol correction