Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The 2023 Session is now underway. It is an honor to be given the opportunity to continue serving in the legislature. For the next four years, I will be representing the newly redrawn Senate District 20, which includes all of Wabasha County, most of Goodhue County, and parts of Dakota, Olmsted, and Winona Counties. 

This session will bring some new challenges to Saint Paul with the newly elected Democrat trifecta in control. They have already made their intentions known of passing a variety of radical new policies, including legalizing the sale of drugs for recreational use, a ban on “assault weapons,” removing current vaccination exemptions in state statute, and spending our budget surplus on new government programs. 

Thankfully, Republicans still have an opportunity to influence the legislation passed through both chambers and push back against the attacks we will see on our freedoms this year. The composition of the Senate is 34 and 33 Republicans. The Democrats will require every vote their caucus has to pass legislation through the chamber, including their more moderate members that have expressed skepticism of some of their extreme proposals. It will be critical for me, along with my Republican colleagues, to keep the pressure up on the Democrats and hold them accountable for every vote they take. 

The first thing on the agenda was a full-fledged, on-demand abortion up until the minute of birth bill, HF1.   Pro-Life Senators such as myself tried to stop this extreme bill from passing and then tried to put in guardrails that would at least offer some protections to parents' rights, protection of minors and abused and trafficked women in our state. To all these amendments, the DFL said no.  They claimed that they were "codifying roe" when what they were really doing was eliminating every regulation and offering state taxpayer subsidies for abortion and sterilization on demand.  This bill will cause many problems and a lot of heartache for families across Minnesota in the future.  

When I talk to people in the district and around the state, one of the most consistent issues they bring up is the tax on social security benefits.  Republicans tried to bring this issue to the floor today, Monday, January 30th, but the DFL Senators rejected it in order to make it an end-of-session bargaining chip again.

Minnesota is 1 of only 11 states that still tax Social Security benefits. The state has a massive $18 billion surplus, and there is no reason to delay this measure any longer.

A few weeks ago, Governor Walz proposed adding an additional inspector general to the Minnesota Department of Education in response to the 250 million in taxpayer dollars lost in the Feeding our Future fraud scandal.

The executive branch has the responsibility of oversight of the grants they approve. However, rather than taking responsibility in the wake of the largest fraud case in Minnesota history, Governor Walz and Education Commissioner Heather Mueller attempted to shift the blame onto the judiciary by falsely claiming the agency was under court order to pay Feeding our Future. In response to this coverup attempt, the Minnesota Judicial Branch released a statement refuting the false statements made by Governor Walz and the Department of Education. The statement sets the record straight, clarifying that the Department of Education voluntarily continued making payments to Feeding Our Future after suspicions of fraud began to arise and were not at any time under court order to continue doing so.

Please 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.  

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