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*May 3, 2024
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Friends and Neighbors,

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We're in the final days of session with just ten legislative days left for the majority to pass their omnibus and supplemental finance bills. We have had floor sessions that go late into the night every day this week where House Republicans have debated and attempted to amend the majority's omnibus bills. There was too much to focus on this week to cover in just one newsletter so I will cover what I believe are the most important - the gun control bills the Taxes Omnibus Bill, the situation with Senator Mitchell, and the Education Finance bill.

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Gun Bills

This week, the House heard three gun bills on the House Floor: a binary trigger ban, a firearm storage mandate, and mandatory reporting for lost & stolen firearms. Each raises significant concerns:

HF 4300 sets strict* firearm storage mandates*, going beyond current laws that already require firearms to be stored out of children?s reach. This bill demands firearms be locked away or under direct control at all times, with non-compliance leading to severe penalties. Despite numerous practical objections and proposed amendments to protect those in immediate danger, like women who have been the victim of stalking or harassment, the majority did not take any of our amendments. The bill lacks support from key law enforcement associations and saw bipartisan opposition.

HF 601 requires the prompt* reporting of lost and stolen firearms* within 48 hours, a shift from the standard of "clear or convincing evidence" to a more ambiguous threshold, which could unfairly criminalize law-abiding citizens who were the victims of a crime. The inconsistency in reporting deadlines between citizens and law enforcement further complicates this issue.

The *binary trigger ban* was included in a broader bill targeting straw purchases. Despite supporting measures against straw purchases, I voted against this bill due to vague language potentially banning common firearms like Glocks.

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Tax Bill

Tonight on the House Floor we are debating the Tax Omnibus Bill. Frankly, I believe that this is a horrible bill and a missed opportunity to repeal some of the $10 billion in new taxes passed last session. I am on the Taxes committee and frankly, constantly find myself defending capitalism and western free markets from the Majority. Many of their members are proud Democratic Socialists so you can imagine the discussion. *Here [ [link removed] ]* is a clip from earlier today where I go into detail on some of the new taxes passed last session while offering an amendment that would have repealed them.

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Senator Mitchell Update

A lot has changed since I first updated you on the situation with Senator Mitchell last week. For starters, she is now voting, and is the deciding vote on anything that passes the Senate due to the DFL's one-seat majority. Even more ludicrous is the fact that several of the motions that she has voted against have to do with the ethics committee hearing or other investigation of her actions over the past week. That's right, she's been the deciding vote on a motion attempting to stop her from voting until an ethics investigation is completed.

Just yesterday KSTP released an incredible article [ [link removed] ] that I encourage you to read. They were able to interview the stepmother who said that she was worried that Senator Mitchell was going to physically injure her, and that she was so afraid that she "gets goosebumps talking about it."

It's obviously unacceptable to allow Senator Mitchell to vote knowing what we know from the police report, 911 transcript, and an interview with the victim. She is the deciding vote on extremely controversial pieces of legislation during the end of session because the Senate DFL would rather protect her, and their trifecta, than protect the integrity of the institution.

This situation really does call into question just what the DFL was doing yesterday by passing two gun control bills. The debate on those two bills alone took over 12 hours just to head to a Senate where their future is uncertain - *will the Senate DFL allow a Senator who is facing felony burglary charges to be the deciding vote on gun control bills?*

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Education Finance Bill

Finally, this week we heard the Education Finance Bill during another Floor Session that went late into the night. This bill unfortunately represents a missed opportunity to roll back some of the nearly 70 mandates, most unfunded, that were imposed on our schools last year.

While the bill contains provisions that I believe in, like allocating significant funds to the READ Act, it also contains numerous mandates, notably in health education, which reduce local control and increase administrative roles at the expense of classroom needs. The implementation of broad, state-driven initiatives such as the Student Attendance Pilot Program suggests a one-size-fits-all solution that may not effectively tackle the diverse issues across districts.

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As these final days unfold, the decisions made will have lasting impacts. Thank you for staying informed and involved.






Please Contact Me

Please continue to reach out if I can be of any assistance to you. You can reach me by phone at 651-296-3018 or by email at [email protected].

Have a great weekend!?

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Patti











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387 State Office Building
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