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*February 3, 2023*






MN Grocers Assoc Award

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

It has been another very busy week at the Capitol ? constituent meetings, Committee hearings, and long floor sessions debating bills and offering amendments.

To date, the DFL Majority has not taken any of our amendments, despite their rhetoric of wanting to work together. We will continue to try!

I was honored to be *named the 2023 Legislator of the Year by the Minnesota Grocers Association this week.* Grocery stores are at the heart of our communities, providing essentials to our families, great career opportunities and supporting local schools and organizations. I will continue to advocate for policies that help small businesses throughout our state thrive.







Executive Summary

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Drivers Licenses for All

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Permanent Rules

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Voting Rights for Felons

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New Intern ? Welcome Anna!






Drivers Licenses for All

This week the House passed a bill to provide Drivers Licenses for undocumented immigrants. The bill also passed the Senate last night and is expected to be signed by Governor Walz in the next day or two.

Under this new law, *undocumented immigrants will be able to obtain a Class D drivers license that is identical to the licenses Minnesota citizens over 21 currently carry.?*They will not be eligible for the federal Real ID.

Despite support from many business, agriculture and law enforcement groups, this bill has serious flaws that we were not able to correct, as all of our amendments were rejected by the DFL Majority.?*Here are my concerns:*


* *The drivers license for undocumented immigrants will look identical to that of Minnesota citizens and could be used for same-day voter registration.*
* *We offered amendments to make the orientation of the license vertical* (like current drivers licenses for those under 21) *and to have ?not valid for voting? printed on the front of the licenses, *but both were rejected.?For context, both of those amendments were "accepted" by the DFL last year, when they knew they would have to negotiate with the Republican-controlled Senate. Now that the DFL has full control of both bodies, they refused to put those common-sense election protection measures on the licenses.
* *This, coupled with a bill that is coming to automatically register people to vote when they get their drivers license, is concerning.*? We did get some language in the bill to require the DVS to send the Secretary of State a list of those newly eligible to vote, but it would not identify those who are not citizens. It also doesn?t direct the Secretary of State to do anything with the list or provide any audits or reports to the Legislature on whether any ineligible voters are, in fact, registered through this automatic registration system.

* *The current Dept. of Vehicle Services (DVS) is already unable to keep up with demand for driver?s exams, road tests, and license renewals. *Adding thousands of newly eligible drivers into the system at once is only going to make it worse.
* This bill provides funding for DVS to hire an additional 16 full time employees in FY2024, and for 10 new hires for each subsequent year. This is simply not enough workers to deal with what is sure to be a huge influx in new drivers license applicants.
* The Migration Policy Center estimated in 2019 that there are approximately 81,000 undocumented immigrants living in Minnesota. The Department of Public Safety assumes that 77,000 of those 81,000 are over the age of 16 and eligible for a drivers license. They are also assuming that only 20% of those eligible will actually apply in the first year ? an additional 15,400 people!
* *Further, DPS assumes it will take an average of 1.9 tries to pass the exam, so they expect an additional 29,260 exams in the first year and an additional 14,630 each year after that ? *assuming their estimate that only 20% apply in the first year and 10% in the following years is actually correct!

Our system is already broken. COVID caused massive backlogs and we still don?t have adequate staffing to meet current demand*, despite a state law that requires access to a road test within 14 days of a request*. DPS asked that the effective date be delayed to allow them more time to prepare, but that was rejected and the bill will *take effect October 1, 2023.*

*Expecting almost 30,000 new drivers exams in the first year but not providing adequate staff and time to implement this is a mistake that will cause problems for Minnesotans for years.*?This bill has not adequately addressed these concerns and all of our amendments to improve the bill were rejected.?

If you are interested, you can watch my floor speech here [ [link removed] ].






Permanent Rules

Every two years, a new Legislature is sworn in and the House adopts the set of Rules we will follow for procedures on the floor and in Committee.

For the past two years, the Legislature has operated under ?Covid Rules?? which required all committees to meet via Zoom and Members were allowed to attend Floor sessions, and even vote, remotely.?

This policy did not serve the people of Minnesota well. With very few Members in the Capitol, relationships were not built and Members couldn?t negotiate well. In addition, because all Committees were remote, public testimony was significantly reduced and even fewer members of the public could follow the process. There were no requirements for Members to stay on screen, so those testifying usually had no idea if Members were even still on the Zoom or paying attention.

*The new House Rules proposed for the 2023-24 biennium did not return to pre-Covid Rules. Instead, they proposed allowing continued remote voting, albeit more limited.*?Members would be allowed to attend Committees and Floor sessions remotely, if they or a family member had a health or safety reason that was approved by the Speaker.

*Fundamentally, I don?t believe the Covid-era Rules or the new House Rules are constitutional.*?I offered two amendments to address this:

*One amendment would require members to participate in Committees and Floor sessions in person or get an excused absence, as we have done for decades prior to Covid.*

In Article IV, Sec. 12 of the Minnesota State Constitution it states:

"?The legislature shall meet at the seat of government in regular session in each biennium at the times prescribed by law for not exceeding a total of 120 legislative days.?"

The ?seat of government? is in St. Paul at the Capitol*. *

*My amendment did allow for members of the public to testify remotely* in Committee hearings*.* The Constitution is silent on public testimony and It doesn?t make sense for Minnesotans to take time off work and drive long distances to testify on a bill for two minutes or less in person. *If people want to come in person, that is always welcome, but it would no longer be necessary to participate in state government.*

Unfortunately, this amendment failed. You can watch part of my floor speech here [ [link removed] ]?

*My second amendment would prohibit the Rules or Ways & Means Committees from combining omnibus bills from various committees.?*Each finance committee would have its own bill, which would make it easier for the public to follow the process and make sure that all of the provisions are related to the same subject, as is also required by the Constitution.

Unfortunately, this amendment also failed.

All Members take an oath to uphold the federal and state Constitutions.?*If Members want to change the Constitution to allow for remote voting, they should put a Constitutional amendment before the voters and let the people decide how they want their representative government to function.? *

This sets a terrible precedent to allow the House Rules to be used to make an end-run around the State Constitution.

I will keep fighting for transparency at the Capitol, but I am disappointed that these common-sense amendments were rejected.






Voting Rights for Felons

Yesterday, House Democrats passed a bill to *restore a felon's right to vote upon release from incarceration. If the sentence is stayed and the felon does not go to jail or prison, they do not lose the right to vote.*

Current law restores felons? right to vote after they have fully served their sentence, which includes time on probation. Minnesota is unusual in that state law requires that only 2/3 of a sentence be served in prison and 1/3 be served on probation. The full sentence is not served, however, until the probationary period is over.

Many violent offenders don?t actually serve any time in prison for their offenses, so they would never lose the right to vote. *In 2019, 40% of all defendants received probation instead of the presumptive prison sentence recommended by the Sentencing Guidelines.*

*Also in 2019, 37% of the following offenses received probation instead of prison and would not lose their right to vote under this bill:*?first-degree aggravated robbery, second-degree assault, possession of child pornography, third-degree criminal sexual conduct, fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, failure to register as a predatory offender and felon with a gun offense.

Republicans offered several amendments to this bill to make sure criminals are held accountable for their actions before their rights are restored, but they were not accepted and so I voted no.?

*I am disappointed that the majority's first bill dealing with the criminal justice system focused on the rights of the offenders instead of increasing penalties for crime and helping victims.?*Minnesota is continuing to see increases in violent crime and we have serious bills to address car-jacking, retail theft and repeat offenders that have not even been given hearings yet.?*It is time to focus on holding criminals accountable, not expanding their rights.*






New Intern ? Welcome Anna!

Welcome Anna!

I am thrilled to welcome Anna, a student in the House?s Undergraduate Intern Program, to our office! Anna will be helping us serve the people of District 37A two days each week and learning about the legislative process. I'm excited to get to work with Anna over the next few months!







Photos

Minnesota Independence College and Community Meeting

One of my Capitol highlights every year - meeting with students from Minnesota Independence College and Community! These remarkable young people have either received or are working on their college degrees. They are enjoying their jobs & making a difference in our community!






Please Contact Me

Many of you have already been in touch to discuss your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you. Thank you for sharing your ideas! Please continue to contact me to discuss any matters to which I can be of assistance.

The best way to reach me is by email:[email protected]. For occasional updates, you can follow my Facebook Page at @RepKristinRobbins. You can also leave a voicemail on my office number, 651-296-7806, which is checked multiple times/week.

Have a great weekend!

?

Kristin











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239 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.7806







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