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Bliss




Friends and Neighbors,

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I hope you?re enjoying the start of spring! The 2024 Legislative Session is flying by and we officially only have one month left! That means that we?re well into omnibus bill season where House Republicans work to amend the majority?s bills with commonsense proposals during long floor debates. This week I wanted to update you on the Lands Bill, and the Commerce Bill.

The Lands Bill that was considered on the House Floor this week, HF 3508, grants the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) authority to sell surplus state land, and facilitate the sale of tax-forfeit land. Given the significant impact of these powers, it's clear that such sweeping authority should not be granted lightly or without stringent oversight.

To address this, I introduced and presented an amendment that would require a supermajority vote for the passage of any land transfer bills. This amendment is designed to ensure that major changes to our public lands, such as the elimination of state parks and state forests,cannot be made unilaterally. By requiring broader legislative consensus, we aim to foster genuine bipartisan collaboration and prevent rash or politically motivated land management decisions. We must protect the integrity of our state's resources and ensure that any transfer of public lands is considered carefully and with the broad agreement of all parties, including local stakeholders.? This amendment was not added to the bill but I will continue to work on this over the summer.? In order to ensure the enforceability of this provision we may have to offer this as a constitutional amendment to the Minnesota constitution.

The House also considered the Commerce Omnibus Bill on the House Floor this week, and it is troubling on several fronts. It's laden with bureaucratic corrections that may seem minor but opens the door to more controversial issues like overreaching debt collections, imposing insurance requirements for gender-affirming care, and heavy-handed broadband regulations.

Most alarmingly, the bill initially included a devastating new broadband tax, potentially increasing local taxes on broadband bills by up to 8%. At a time when families are still reeling from last year's $10 billion tax hike, which continues to take effect, this was unacceptable. Thankfully, House Republicans successfully applied pressure and eliminated this tax.

Moreover, the bill forces private insurers to cover gender-affirming care without allowing for coverage of detransition procedures, showing a glaring bias in mandated healthcare coverage. This not only exemplifies the inconsistency in our healthcare system but also threatens to inflate healthcare costs for everyone. Rest assured, I opposed these provisions and will continue to stand against such overregulation and fiscal irresponsibility.

*On the Radar:*

There are still several gun bills that are being considered, though we aren?t sure how or if they?re going to pass yet. The governor has pushed for the defenseless storage mandate, this bill would make you a felon for allowing your teenager access to your gun safe to get their own shotgun to go hunting after school. and mandatory reporting of lost and stolen firearms specifically and because of this, I think that these are the two most likely to pass this year, if any. Another bill would allow local governments to ban lawful carry in buildings or land that they own or lease and while nothing is truly ever ?dead? in the Legislature, I have not heard of any plans for this to pass this year. Still, that is far from an assurance and I will continue to keep a close eye on these bills, especially as we enter the final month of session.






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State Rep. Matt Bliss
311 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
St. Paul, MN 55155
[email protected]
(651) 296-5516







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