Dear Neighbors,
While Minnesota has a “part-time” legislature because session runs from January to May, my work here is far from part time. Although election laws prohibited me from sending these updates during election season, I thought you might be interested in some of the work I did during the interim as your representative.
Connecting with our community
As always, I continued to connect with constituents who contacted me with various concerns. In the upcoming legislative session, I will be introducing three bills that originated from ideas you brought to me. These bills are related to homeowner’s associations (HOAs), family childcare, and assisted living. In addition to talking to constituents about these bills, I have been discussing them with the various stakeholders. Stay tuned to future e-updates about these bills.
In addition, we have amazing staff at the Capitol who can assist constituents with various issues. For example, just this week our staff helped two community members who wrote to me – one who was having difficulty receiving his driver’s license while he was wintering elsewhere, and another who was unable to fill her prescriptions because her state insurance lapsed through no fault of hers. This is a reminder to feel free to reach out to me to see if we can assist you.
I was also able to tour some businesses and schools in the area, including the Northern Soda Company at a meeting with the Twin Cities North Chamber of Commerce, the University of Northwestern, and PAR Systems with Congresswoman McCollum.
Public safety work
As chair of the Public Safety Committee, a lot of my work in the interim revolved around improving safety in Minnesota. I met with victim survivors, victim advocates, law enforcement, community groups, formerly incarcerated, impacted family members, state agencies, and more. In December, we convened an informational hearing focused on the gaps and long-term needs of our correctional system. I’m looking forward to co-chairing the Public Safety Committee where we will continue building on our past work to enhance public safety.
The Speaker appoints members to various task forces that meet outside of the legislature. In addition, I chose to follow the work of some of the public safety-related task forces that met because of legislation we enacted last year. This interim I attended meetings for the State Advisory Council on Interstate Adult/Juvenile Supervision; the Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security; the Domestic Violence and Firearms Task Force; and the Motor Vehicle Registration Compliance Working Group. Some of these groups will be presenting reports to the legislature that include recommendations for legislation which I will likely author.
Presentations and trainings
Over the interim, I was asked to talk to various groups including local city councils, student groups, the League of Women Voters, and the Minnesota Peace and Police Officers Association. I participated in a training hosted by the Minnesota Chiefs of Police and another by Red Lake Tribal Nation, and I presented at the Gun Violence Prevention Summit. I really enjoy meeting new people and learning about important work being done throughout Minnesota.
It’s an honor to serve as your representative and do all this work on behalf of our community.
Session starts next week
You may have heard about a tumultuous start to the year as the House prepares for session to begin next week. I wanted to take the time to explain the gravity of the situation and why my DFL colleagues and I are working to preserve the will of the people of Minnesota.
This past election, Minnesotans voted for equal numbers of Democratic and Republican state representatives. A 67-67 tie in the 134-member Minnesota House of Representatives is extremely rare, but I see it as a fantastic opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to show Minnesotans that we can govern together on a bipartisan basis. I have worked in a bipartisan manner as your representative, including last year authoring and passing a public safety policy package that had unanimous support.
Unfortunately, my Republican colleagues have walked away from power sharing negotiations and are now attempting to engage in an illegitimate power grab that ignores the voters in two districts, including our neighboring district 40B (Shoreview and Roseville), which currently has an open seat and an upcoming special election.
During a recent press conference, Republicans confirmed they plan to try to use a two-week, one-seat advantage to permanently seize control of the House for the next two years. This ignores the upcoming vote of our neighbors in 40B. It also means that voters who elected DFLers would not have equal representation, despite having an equal number of DFL and Republican state representatives. Our district deserves to have our voices and values heard in this tied house.
Republicans also made clear that they would use their temporary one-vote advantage to unseat a duly elected DFL state representative from Shakopee and order a special election regardless of the fact he won, in effect disenfranchising 21,980 voters in Shakopee who cast their ballots in the November election. Republicans have indicated that they will unseat this member regardless of the court decision that should be issued soon. That is outrageous and has never been done in Minnesota history.
I’m calling on my Republican colleagues to abandon their illegitimate power grab, honor the election results, and sign a power-sharing agreement. A majority in the Minnesota House is 68 members, Republicans have only 67 members, and it takes 68 votes to pass a bill, which means we have to work together on a bipartisan basis to get things done.
I am hopeful that a power-sharing agreement can be adopted before the new legislative session begins on January 14. At this time, my focus is on doing everything within my power to make that happen. This situation can be resolved, but first Republicans need to return to the negotiating table.
Stay In Touch
Please feel free to contact me directly with your viewpoints or if I can be of assistance. My email is rep.kelly.moller@house.mn.gov and my phone number is 651-296-0141.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.
Sincerely,
Kelly Moller
State Representative