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*Legislative Update 3.14.23
*

Safe & Sound Minnesota

bill presentation

Last week, Republicans introduced our plan to improve public safety in Minnesota. The plan includes 17 GOP bills that focus on confronting the criminal threat, supporting police, and overhauling our court system to require more transparency and accountability. You can watch the press conference here [ [link removed] ] and see the full press release here [ [link removed] ].

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The Safe & Sound Plan has three parts: confronting the threat of violent and repeat criminals, strengthening police, and holding judges and prosecutors accountable with public data and information.

A few specific proposals include:


* Making carjacking a crime
* Increasing penalties for fleeing police in a motor vehicle
* Increasing sentences for those convicted of at least two prior crimes of violence
* Aligning fentanyl to the same weight thresholds and penalties as heroin
* Increasing sworn officers on Metro Transit
* Increasing the penalty for transferring a firearm to an ineligible person and requiring a court to ensure someone who has been ordered to give up their firearms has indeed done so
* Mandatory minimum sentences for criminals who commit crimes with a firearm

We are more than two months into session and the majority party has yet to pass any bills that improve or even address public safety. It?s time to tackle this problem for a safer, brighter Minnesota.



DFL Pay-to-Play Fundraiser Stopped

An invitation to a midsession fundraiser hosted by the DFL raised eyebrows and made headlines last week. The fundraiser, which was to be held right across the street from the Capitol, was exploiting a loophole in the law that bans legislators and party units from receiving contributions from lobbyists during the legislative session. The invitation, which was sent to lobbyists, stated that current members of DFL House and Senate leadership would be in attendance.

Once this was discovered, Rep. Torkelson introduced HF 2790 [ [link removed] ] - a bill that would close this loophole by prohibiting major political parties from accepting contributions during the legislative session. Within hours of the bill?s introduction, the fundraiser was postponed.

Floor Debate

Early last week, the Democrats used procedural motion to kill debate on the House floor. House Republicans made a motion to adopt a minority committee report from the Economic Development Committee on HF 2093 [ [link removed] ], a bill that would give over $100 million to a nonprofit that doesn?t even own the property they?re looking to renovate in Minneapolis.

According to the Rules of the House, a minority report, defined as ?a report that reflects the thinking of the members not favoring the majority position or action on an issue?, must be considered before the majority committee report, which is needed to officially move the bill from one committee to another.

While my House Republican colleagues were speaking to this motion, Rep. Long made a non-debatable motion to table the report and promptly killed both debate and the report. Seeing as how the minority report was not adopted, and the majority report was therefore never taken up, the bill cannot move to another committee for consideration and the bill?s future is now unclear. You can watch the floor proceedings here [ [link removed] ].

Weatherization

In last week?s Climate and Energy Committee, we had a long conversation about HF 2014 [ [link removed] ], a bill that would fund the existing weatherization program, and add two new components of the program that fund "pre-weatherization" and training for installers. In the discussion, it was revealed that the new pre-weatherization section would cover a wide variety of home improvement projects that need to be done before doing weatherization, which could lead to taxpayer dollars paying for home improvement projects that are only vaguely related to weatherization, such as carpet removal.

The following list of pre-weatherization measures were proposed for low-income energy conservation programs:


* Remediation of vermiculite and presumed asbestos containing materials. This includes attic insulation, siding, HVAC-, or pipe-wrap
* Mold and moisture related:
* Structural repair (foundation, roofing, windows/doors, repair or replacement)
* Grading for seepage control
* Gutters/downspouts repair, replacement, or addition
* Sump pumps ? repair, replacement, or addition
* Black mold removal

* Radon mitigation
* Structural repair or replacement (non-moisture related) ? foundation, roofing, windows/doors
* Plumbing leaks / sewer problems.
* Major electrical upgrading ? replace K/T, upgrading panel, etc.
* Inaccessible crawl spaces
* Remediation of excessive clutter or hoarding
* Chimney liners
* Integrated pest management (bugs and vermin remediation and blocking)

During the hearing, the discussion took a bizarre turn. One testifier cited hoarding as a barrier and the Deputy Commissioner from Commerce stated that they didn't want a cap on how much could be spent on each home so that we stop ?walking away? from these homeowners. I?m opposed to using taxpayer dollars to fund private home improvement projects. Watch the full discussion here [ [link removed] ].

University Budget Request

Last Tuesday, the University of Minnesota presented their budget request to the House Higher Education Committee and asked for an additional $97.5 million, bringing the total ask to $302 million, and that is before the possible acquisition of the University?s hospitals from Fairview for approximately $900 million.

Due to this huge ask, I asked whether taxpayers would be on the hook for budget shortfalls accrued by the university system. You can read more about the proposal here [ [link removed] ] and watch the committee hearing here [ [link removed] ].

Bill Presentation

Last Wednesday I presented HF 746 to the Capital Investment Committee. This is the bill that would fund much needed projects concerning the Monticello Water Plant and accompanying water utility infrastructure. I?m committed to providing clean water for my district and all Minnesotans, and I was happy to advocate for our community in St. Paul.






Please Contact Me

As always, if you need assistance on an issue pertaining to state government or have concerns or ideas about legislation, my office is available to you. You can e-mail at [email protected] or call my office at 651-296-5063 [ tel:6512965063 ]. You can also write a letter to me. My office address at the Capitol is 357 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55155.

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357 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
651.296.5063







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