ST. PAUL – State Representative Marj Fogelman (R-Fulda) said too much debate on radical Democrat proposals and not enough attention paid to common sense legislation will be the key takeaways from the now concluded 2024 legislative session.
“From wasting too much of our money to prioritizing legislation from their far left members, the House majority did a poor job of managing session over the last two years,” Fogelman said. “And the chaos seen on the last day of session is further proof of that.”
Fogelman noted that the Democrat majority spent a nearly $18 billion budget surplus last year and raised taxes by another $10 billion. In addition, it approved new laws that provide free college; health insurance and drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants; allow abortions up to birth; attack your 2nd Amendment rights; declared Minnesota a refuge for children seeking sex changes; created a hate speech database; and created a program that allows inmates who complete certain programming to serve just half of their prison sentences.
Fogelman said the legislative majority had months to discuss and approve updated budget bills for the State of Minnesota yet chose to wait until the final day of session to try and approve them. During the last hour, Fogelman said the majority party took several controversial proposals and combined them into one for a forced floor vote. The 1,430-page bill included spending relating to taxes, transportation, housing, labor, higher education, agriculture, energy, and human services. Also included is language relating to scope of practice, paid family medical leave and a binary trigger ban for firearms. Debate was not allowed on this mammoth bill and was not made available for lawmakers to read before they were ordered to vote on it.
“Throwing several bills into one is not only a terrible way to govern but unconstitutional,” Fogelman said. “All session we heard about the importance of equal rights, yet the majority party had no problem utilizing this disgusting abuse of power against the minority party and the constituents we represent.”
Part of the majority’s spending spree last session was on the Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) plan. This nearly $3 billion program is paid for by a brand-new tax on employers and employees and expands employers’ leave obligations to part-time and temporary workers. Fogelman said this session the majority recognized $3 billion isn’t going to be enough to fund the program, so it approved another $735 million tax increase on Minnesotans on the final day of session.
“They don’t even have IT infrastructure set up for this program, but the majority wants our workforce to pay more for it,” Fogelman said. “This huge mandate continues to be unaffordable for small businesses. We need to be cutting taxes and removing mandates and regulations to help small businesses and keep them here in Minnesota.”
Fogelman said a bill that would ask voters to amend the state’s Constitution to allow abortions up to 40 weeks was approved by one vote in the Minnesota House but was not taken up by the Senate prior to adjournment. If approved by voters, the language that would have been added to the constitution would enshrine the most extreme abortion policy in the nation – abortion up to the moment of birth, which is opposed by most Minnesotans.
“Because the proposal stalled in the Senate, the proposed Constitutional amendment will not be on the ballot this fall,” Fogelman noted.
Fogelman, who serves on the Minnesota House Capital Investment Committee, said a cash bonding bill was approved on the floor moments before session ended but the Senate was unable to take a vote on it prior to the deadline.
“Over the past two years under one party rule in Minnesota, we have seen significant mismanagement in the legislature,” Fogelman said. “It’s clear that balance needs to be restored in state government.”