It was great seeing Liz Collin and many other friends at an event Sunday in Monticello !! | Today, April 15, is Tax Day, a high holy holiday for Democrats. As hardworking taxpayers file state and federal income tax returns and pay their crushing taxes, I’m among the legislative Republicans who continue working hard to cut both taxes and the cost of bloated government. Dear Friends and Neighbors, Trees are beginning to bud, the grass is coming back, and it was absolutely gorgeous over the weekend! I hope you had the opportunity to get outdoors and take advantage of the annual pre-mosquito micro-window we have which will come to very quick close. Last week in the Senate the Democrat majority continued bringing their omnibus policy bills to the Floor. It's abundantly clear the Democrat-trifecta has zero interest working toward solving issues as One-Minnesota. Rather, even policy areas with wide room for bipartisanship brought forth by Republicans to help Minnesotans are repeatedly ignored by the Democrat-trifecta. | Sen. Lucero and Rep. Hudson visiting with 6th graders from STMA Middle School East Thursday last week at the MN Capitol. | The Democrat-trifecta actively supports racism while falsely claiming to oppose discrimination against protected classes. Transportation Thursday last week, the Transportation Policy Omnibus bill was passed on the Senate Floor. Due to the disturbing and growing trend of blatant discrimination actively promoted by Gov. Walz across state agencies, I offered an amendment seeking to curtail the practice in programs administered by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The example I provided on the Senate Floor is a training program in highway construction trades. The program discriminates against protected classes in direct conflict with Minnesota's human rights statutes. To be eligible, a participant must be "black, indigenous, person of color, woman, or otherwise disadvantaged." Race, color, national origin, sex, and gender identity, are among the protected classes in existing MN state statute. It is illegal to discriminate based on these protected classes but that is exactly what the Democrat-trifecta and Gov. Walz are doing. Below is a screenshot of the amendment I offered seeking to end the discrimination Gov. Walz is pushing. | My remarks can be viewed at the following link here. In other transportation related news, the Socialist dominated Minneapolis City Council recently passed regulations on rideshare services so burdensome Uber and Lyft are threating to leave Minnesota all together on July 1st when the new regulations take effect. The consequences of Minnesotans losing access to these services will be disastrous. Law enforcement has voiced fears of increased drunk driving, the state's courts will face issues of individuals not showing up to court dates due to a lack of transportation, and vital state income will be lost as Minnesota becomes a less desirable state to host sporting and entertainment events. It’s amazing to watch Minneapolis continue their loony-left, crazy, self-destruction. Environment During the debate of the Omnibus Environment bill which passed off the Senate Floor last week, the discussion included wolf hunting. Wolf hunting is restricted under federal law due to their current status as an endangered species. Yet, wolves pose a massive threat to famers and their livestock in Minnesota and have pleaded with legislators to authorize the DNR to administer controlled annual hunts to remove these threats to the livelihood of farmers. This could happed as soon as wolves are delisted at the Federal level. The biggest opponents to a controlled wolf hunt are Democrats in the 7-County metro area who don’t experience the damage, destruction, and threat to safety wolves cause. One urban Democrat proposed a radical amendment to prevent any future wolf hunts in Minnesota in the event wolves are delisted as an endangered species. The author of the amendment claimed she wanted to allow the DNR to do their job by banning wolf hunting, but the reality is experts support wolf hunting as a method of population control. The amendment authored by the metro legislator would only prevent wildlife experts at the DNR from doing their jobs. Ultimately, the amendment went too far for even some Democrats and was voted down in a bipartisan vote. My remarks during the debate can be viewed at the following link here. | Housing Last Monday, Democrats passed their Omnibus Housing Bill filled with changes to landlord-tenant law. The cost of housing in Minnesota is dramatically more expensive than all surrounding states. Unfortunately, the Democrat majority has put little to zero effort into addressing the root causes of expensive housing in Minnesota. Instead of encouraging more homeownership and the development of additional rental properties, Democrats took an adversarial approach to the landlord-tenant relationship that reduces private property rights and jeopardizes the safety of everyone who lives in multi-family housing. We need to be doing more to increase the supply of affordable housing options. The Democrats failed to deliver. The bill allows tenant organizing groups access to apartment buildings, even if they are not residents of those buildings. The change presents potential safety concerns for residents and staff, particularly after a Brooklyn Park apartment complex caretaker was murdered in February. Republicans offered an amendment that would have allowed landlords to conduct background checks on any non-resident tenant organizer and prohibit entry to organizers convicted of any violent crimes such as murder, assault, robbery, sex crimes, and drug crimes involving controlled substances. Democrats defeated the amendment. Republicans also offered an amendment to remove the controversial portions of the bill and pass a clean, bipartisan tenant bill. The amendment included additional protections for tenants who terminate a lease without penalty if they fear violence due to domestic abuse, sexual crimes, or harassment; prohibit pet deposit fees for service animals; prohibit penalties for tenants who call for emergency mental health assistance; and make other minor agreed-upon changes to leases and late fees. That amendment was also defeated by the Senate Democrat majority. Republicans also offered an amendment to stop the squatter trend occurring across the country and widely seen on social media modeled after a bill I introduced, SF 5401. The amendment was an attempt to proactively address an issue that has become a target of exploitation in other areas of the country but the Senate Democrat majority voted the amendment down. You can listen to my remarks regarding squatters at the following link here. | Jobs The Democrat Omnibus Jobs bill passed Monday last week, and as expected, failed to do anything to recover the 10,000 jobs driven out of the state since the Democrat economic lockdown in 2020. Rather than focusing on job growth for Minnesota and making our state a good place for businesses to invest, the Democrat majority was more focused on growing state government and continuing the money flow to non-profits lacking accountability. The Democrat bill reduces the accountability for taxpayer dollars spent on grants and non-profits, eliminated requirements for local governments in grant applications to provide details on costs, timelines, and repayment commitments, and even removed a cap for certain grantees that restricts the amount spent on administrative program costs to no more than 10% of the funds awarded. Senate Republicans offered several amendments that aimed to increase accountability and transparency for how taxpayer dollars are spent, but were all rejected by the Democrat majority. - Requiring DEED to work with MMB to determine the effectiveness of new programs or of grants of $500,000 or more
- Reinstating a 10% cap on administrative costs for grants to nonprofits
- Reinstating a requirement that DEED prioritize projects with highest public benefit
| Sen. Lucero signing 98 new resident letters to people who moved to our great community in March and 71 congratulations letters sent to parents who were blessed with newborns in March. In Other News | The FALSE narrative human activity is altering the Earth’s climate is foolishness by itself, but it’s exponential foolishness and twisted thinking to attempt to block the sun. | AI, automation, and other technologies don't skip work days, don't demand unsupportable minimum wages, and don't require UI tax paid to the state. Democrats defiantly continue expanding crushing mandates and hardships. Businesses have little choice but to cut human jobs and replace with technology. | The new hardship-normal in the Democrat-trifecta / Gov. Walz / Pres. Biden economy. | Wind/solar cannot reliably replace nuclear/natural gas/coal power generation sources. Brownouts, blackouts, and skyrocketing electricity prices are the result of shutting down nuclear/natural gas/coal. | It's long past time to shut off taxpayer funding to NPR and MPR due to their being bias mouthpieces for Democrats and other big-government types. | Adults need to be held criminally liable for this child abuse! | This was the lead headline Saturday morning. The condition of corporate media in this state is shocking hollow. Journalism in MN is severely lacking integrity. 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 | |
