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Van Binsbergen




KOC

"It was great to see Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell on the House floor this week as we recognized him for winning the 2024 NFL Coach of the Year Award. Skol!"

Dear Neighbor,

We continue making our way through omnibus finance bills in the House, with the body conducting preliminary votes on packages to balance the state budget for the next two years. I’m not a fan of large omnibus bills and prefer single-issue bills. In any case, here are some highlights from a few of these bills:

*Public safety*

The House recently passed a public safety bill (H.F. 2432 [ [link removed] ]) that tackles core safety concerns, improves corrections policy, and boosts officer training while also cutting waste and making smart, targeted investments.

Here are some highlights from the bill:


* Stricter penalties for people who traffic minors, inmates who assault correctional officers, and anyone who exposes kids to dangerous drugs like fentanyl.
* Support for police departments statewide with better training, education on use-of-force, and reimbursements for local safety efforts.
* Real justice reform, including better prosecution for arson cases, putting a pause on probation fees expiring, and improving transparency.

One big disappointment is all 67 House Democrats voted down an amendment that would’ve boosted immigration enforcement in our state. This amendment was in line with the Laken Riley Act signed by President Trump, which requires law enforcement to notify ICE when someone here illegally is arrested for serious crimes like murder, assault, carjacking, or kidnapping. It also would’ve stopped local governments from enforcing sanctuary city policies that shield criminals from deportation.

*Veterans bill*

The House also passed a bill (S.F. 1959 [ [link removed] ]) that keeps our promise to those who served, supporting veterans when they come home through essential services to prevent veteran suicide. Veteran suicide is a crisis that reportedly [ [link removed]. ] takes the lives of approximately 100 Minnesota veterans every year. This bill prioritizes mental health support for veterans and expands resources to prevent these tragedies.

Another measure in the bill ensures National Guard members earn pension credit when deployed for state emergencies like floods or wildfires. This bill gives Guard members a pension credit for state active duty because duty is duty, regardless who signs the order or where the duty is performed.

*Commerce bill*

As a member of the House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee, I was especially interested in the budget bill on that subject which the House approved this week. Most importantly, the bill includes no new healthcare mandates and significantly cuts funding to the “CanRenew” program, which gives grants to unaccountable non-profits. Meanwhile, Democrat priorities such as a government-run auto insurance program were left out of the bill.

Look for more from the House soon as we continue working on budget bills so we can get a new state budget in place and adjourn on time May 19. Until next time, have a good weekend and please stay in touch.

Sincerely,

Scott









State Rep. Scott Van Binsbergen
2nd Floor, Centennial Office Building
658 Cedar St., St. Paul, MN 55155
<[email protected]>[email protected] (651) 296-4344







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