Legislative update

Dear Neighbor,

We are now closing out the fourth week of the 2024 session and, yesterday, House Democrats finally showed up for work and their legislative shutdown ended.

They skipped the first 23 session days this year, collecting paychecks all along at a combined $10,000 per day. That is a total of roughly $230,000 in our tax dollars paid to House members while they did not show up for work.

People kept asking, “Where are the House Democrats? Why aren’t they doing their job?” Maybe that’s why they finally ended their shutdown and came to work. Here are the high points of the terms they agreed to:

There will be a Republican Speaker of the House for the first time in six years. As Speaker, Rep. Lisa Demuth will be the second-most powerful elected official in Minnesota.
Republicans will chair the new House committee we established to investigate fraud in state government programs for two years and have a 5-3 voting margin over Democrats.
Republicans have committee chairmanships and majorities on all committees for the entire five-week period leading up to the March 11 special election in District 40B (Roseville).
We will return to a split committee roster and co-chairs IF the Roseville seat returns to Democrats.
Even if the House returns to an even 67-67 split, Rep. Demuth remains the sole Speaker of the House.

It’s great to see Republican Rep. Demuth will be our House Speaker through 2026 because it will give Minnesota a backstop after two years of one-party rule in our state. It also is nice to have Republicans controlling the committee on fraud, so Minnesotans know the House is taking that issue seriously.

The best part in all of this is we can finally start taking official steps toward addressing top priorities House Republicans share with Minnesotans. We’ve been at the Capitol throughout the House Democrat shutdown, continuing doing the work of the people. We have established a series of six top priorities we share with citizens of our state this session.

Here is more on one of these priority issues:

Minnesota Tax Dollars for Minnesotans

House Republicans this week unveiled a package of legislation to ensure state-funded programs and taxpayer resources are reserved for legal residents, while also strengthening immigration enforcement.

It’s called the “Minnesota Tax Dollars for Minnesotans,” and the main points of the plan include:

Ensuring state-funded benefits go to legal residents: This measure prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving state-funded financial aid, grants, subsidies, or other taxpayer-funded assistance, including programs such as the North Star Promise college tuition program and MinnesotaCare.
Banning sanctuary cities and strengthening immigration enforcement: This legislation prevents local and state government entities from enacting policies that restrict cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. It also mandates reporting illegal immigrants arrested for violent crimes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ensuring that criminals who are here unlawfully are held accountable.

This package is about fairness, accountability, and making sure state resources go where they are needed most – to legal citizens in Minnesota. House Republicans will continue working to create stronger financial oversight, smarter spending, and policies that put Minnesotans first.

Watch for more from St. Paul soon. In the meantime, please stay in touch and let me know how I can help.

Sincerely,

Scott