Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The dust is just settling  on the raucous session finale but I wanted to give you a quick update on where some important issues stand now that the legislature has adjourned until next January. 

I hope you have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend, and remember the countless men and women who died serving their country so that you are able to do so!

By now, you may have read about the end of the legislative session and how it ended in chaos. Democrat leadership combined several large omnibus bills into one colossal 1,432-page garbage bill that nobody could read before passage.

Article 4 Section 17 of the Minnesota Constitution states, "No law shall embrace more than one subject, which shall be expressed in its title.” The title for HF5247 alone is six full pages, including dozens of individual subjects expressed in the title.  Elected officials are required to swear an oath to the Minnesota Constitution.  Each session I have served, we have gotten farther away from that provision.  For the most part, the courts have declined to get involved, citing separation of powers and providing narrower and narrower explanations of an omnibus bill's constitutionality. At some point, we'll reach the breaking point, and we may have with this bill.

This mad rush was completely unnecessary. Remember that the Democrats have a “trifecta.” They control the schedule, the agenda, everything.  Only at the end of the session does the minority have leverage. The minority has a choice; they can be accomplices in shortening discussion and getting to the vote, or they can assert their right to debate bills they disagree with.  It’s not the minority’s role to pass the majority’s bills.

To avoid all this, the Democrats could have negotiated with the Republicans and compromised on some issues. That happened last year, and it produced an infrastructure bill and spending bills that contained Republican priorities, such as more money for nursing homes. They landed the plane. I opposed overspending and extremist bills like abortion up until birth. But we had to face a tough reality when the other side had more votes. 

Senate Democrats had significant issues facing their caucus—last year, they chose a leader who was seriously ill with Cancer and was mostly voting remotely. Even after she stepped down, schedules had to be planned around her treatment, which complicated floor action because they needed her vote. That alone would not have caused the train wreck in the end.  This year, they had a senator get arrested on felony charges. They pushed back on Republicans who demanded that they address the issue and defended her to the hilt.  This cost Democrats at least a week.  Finally, in the last hours of the session, one of their members went AWOL for 13 hours, holding the whole session and his caucus hostage in order to get his bill passed.  He eventually got his way, but the Senate spent that valuable time in recess when they could have been debating and passing the individual bills separately. 

So what passed and what didn’t?  First the good news.  There were major pieces of legislation that the Democrats wanted but did not get done. One was ranked-choice voting, and the other was the so-called ERA amendment. (More about the latter below.)  The House spent hours debating these bills, but the Senate did not have the votes to pass them, so they were never taken up.  We also did not see bills on “safe firearms storage,” which criminalized gun owners and limited their ability to use their guns when they were needed. Sanctuary State legislation that would have tied the hands of law enforcement in dealing with illegal aliens also never made it to the Senate. A few Senate Democrats publicly stated they would not vote for these bills, effectively killing them.

Some gun restrictions were passed into law. The new law on binary triggers will make guns that can shoot twice--once on a trigger pull and once on release illegal.  If you own one, you will be forced to get rid of it by turning it in or selling it out of state by January 1, 2025.  If it's an installed device, you will need to remove it.  In my view and many others' this is an unconstitutional taking to ban someone's property from use or sale without compensation.  2nd amendment groups are looking into this issue right now. For people interested in removing the shotgun zone in Southern Minnesota, that also did not pass again this year. 

Thanks to the Democrat "trifecta," our school districts will have more costly education mandates, bringing political agendas into the classroom. They also continued to build a path to single-payer healthcare in Minnesota. Minnesotans will be more at risk for  suffering rolling blackouts like those in California with the passage of Democrat bills that limit our energy supply and make energy less affordable. They increased the cost of doing business in Minnesota while disincentivizing work and gave more money to the failed Southwest light rail.  Thanks to out-of-control spending at the Federal level, inflation continues to be a problem. But don’t look to what was passed this session to be of any help. You’ll be paying higher gas taxes, sales taxes, tab fees, payroll fees, and fees and fines. Many of these will contribute to higher prices of items as businesses pass these increases on to consumers.  There is more to say about this session, but for now, that’s the top level view from my perspective.

In my last newsletter, I provided you with an update on the religious liberties exemption in the proposed changes to Minnesota Human Rights statutes. This exemption, which was a significant concern for many, has now been signed into law. It means that churches can continue to operate in accordance with their sincerely held beliefs and teachings without fear of discrimination lawsuits. This is a significant victory for religious liberties in our state.

The other bill that caused even more consternation would have put an “Equal Rights Amendment” on the ballot to amend the Minnesota constitution to guarantee equality by gender, gender identity, and “gender expression," as well as "making and effectuating decisions about all matters relating to one's own pregnancy​ or decision whether to become or remain pregnant” a new right. What’s worse, the ballot language did not match the language put into statute, which was intentionally deceptive to voters.  The House passed this bill after approximately 14 hours of debate and over 100 amendments brought by House Republicans.  It came to the Senate but was not brought up before we adjourned making it DEAD for the  year.  We do not know why, but clearly, the effort in the House must have given the Senate Democrat leadership some cause for concern, with so many other bills left to finish in the closing days.  

I want to thank everyone who called, sent letters, or emailed me and other Senators. Throughout the weekend, I received an email about this bill every 20 minutes. I was never going to support this bill. Still, your overwhelming support highlighted how crucial this issue was to the people of Minnesota, especially amidst the many other challenges we are facing. This issue stood out as the most frequently discussed topic via email this session, and we can all now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that, for the time being, it is off the table.

As I have written about in previous newsletters or as you may have read in the media, Senator Nicole Mitchell of Woodbury was arrested in Detroit Lakes in the early hours of April 22nd, 2024, and is charged with first degree felony burglary, essentially home invasion, of her step mother's home. Her court date is coming up on June 10 and there is a Senate ethics hearing on June 12.

There is no question that she brought dishonor to the Senate, further tarnishing our institutions at a time when people's trust is at an absolute low.  Worse still, Senate Democrats were so fixated on passing their radical agenda that, with rare exceptions, they could not contemplate working with Republicans to find legislation that both sides could agree on that could pass with bipartisan votes. No matter what she had done, they needed Mitchell for that 34th vote.  

Here is a summary of all of the things that Senate Republicans and I  tried to do to remove her from making important decisions about the future of our state:

• Expedite the ethics hearing process
• Prevent Mitchell from voting
• Instructing the Secretary of the Senate not to count Mitchell’s vote
• Rebalance the committee assignments based on a 33-33 Senate
• Request Mitchell’s resignation
• Ask the Senate as a whole to find there is probable cause in Mitchell’s ethics complaint
• Find Mitchell in conflict of interest for her votes on some of these motions 

All of them have failed without Democrat support. Additionally, Senate Republicans registered a formal protest and dissent on a bill when Mitchell was the deciding vote.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce, which provides consumers with protections and enforces insurance laws for the State of Minnesota, offers Minnesotans guidance on steps to take when filing an insurance claim after storms damage their home, business or other property from yesterday’s storm. Please share this information to your constituents and local officials in your district: Minnesota Department of Commerce Disaster Information Center. Also attached in this email is Commerce Department Disaster Response Guide.

Key tips for filing insurance claims to your property:

1. Contact your insurance company immediately.
2. Wait for the company’s adjuster before you or anyone starts working to remove or repair or replace property.
3. Inventory your damage.
4. Take notes of who you talk with and what they say from your insurance company, adjusters or repair services. Note dates, names and contact information.
5. Avoid scammers or high-pressure sales tactics if you are contacted by someone you don’t know, such as salespeople going door-to-door in areas hit by storms. 

Question or complaint about your insurance company?

If you have questions, complaints or problems with your insurance company, contact the Minnesota Department of Commerce Consumer Services Center: 

• By phone: 651-539-1600 or 800-657-3602
• By email: [email protected].

You can submit a complaint online or call Commerce’s Consumer Services Center.

I don't intend on sending you many emails in the interim months (yes, we still have a part time legislature in Minnesota!) but please do contact me to share any issues, concerns, or feedback you have to assist me in best representing you.  The best way to reach me is by email at [email protected] or by phone at 651-296-5612. My legislative assistant is Margaret Martin, and her number is 651-296-4264. She will be happy to assist you, in or out of session.   Have a great summer!

Sincerely,

Steve Drazkowski

Minnesota Senate, District 20, Wabasha, Goodhue, Winona, Olmsted, and Dakota Counties.

2411 Minnesota Senate Building

95 University Avenue W.
Minnesota Senate Bldg.
St. Paul, MN 55155