Dear Friends,
It’s been another busy week at the Capitol fighting for our way of life. This week, I introduced a billto provide funding for the Pope-Douglas Solid Waste Management materials recovery facility. This is a critical infrastructure project for our community, and I will continue advocating for its inclusion in the bonding bill. Remember, you can always see what bills I introduce here.
My thoughts and prayers have been with the families of Matthew Ruge, Paul Elmstrand, and Adam Finseth who gave their lives over the weekend trying to protect a Burnsville family. My heart goes out to law enforcement and the entire Burnsville community during this difficult time.
This tragedy highlights the risks and sacrifices our law enforcement professionals make every day to keep their communities safe. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. According to KSTP, there were 94 assaults on Minnesota law enforcement officers in January 2024 alone. We are now on pace this year to exceed the 1,179 assaults on peace officers that occurred in 2023. This is not a record we want to break. We must stand with our law enforcement and always show them the support and thankfulness they deserve for risking their lives every day for us.
Tax Bill Technical Corrections Bill Passes
On Monday, the House passed a bipartisan bill to fix an error that was discovered in the 2023 Tax bill over the summer. Had the legislature not made this fix, over 70% of Minnesota’s taxpayers would have faced a higher tax bill – about $352 million higher!
I am glad we quickly passed this bill so that Minnesotans would not have to pay for a technical mistake. However, I am concerned that another error was not included in Monday’s bill. Despite both House and Senate Tax Chairs pledging over the summer to fix another error regarding the Net Operating Loss provision in the 2023 Tax bill – the legislative intent was to make this provision effective for tax year 2024, but the bill incorrectly had the effective date as 2023 – this fix was left out of the bill. If this error is not fixed, our job creators will face a $14.8 million tax increase for 2023 instead of seeing this change in 2024 as originally intended.
Our small businesses continue to struggle amidst rising costs of living, labor shortages, supply chain issues, and more. We cannot let them face more uncertainty if the legislature breaks their promise to fix this error.
Voting Rights for the “Unhoused”?
If the new election laws passed last year didn’t go far enough for Democrats, then this year’s proposals are even more extreme. In the House Elections Committee this week, a bill was heard to allow people who don’t have a physical address to register to vote by simply providing a physical description of their residence.
Proposals like this will make our elections less secure and more vulnerable to voter fraud. A hallmark of democracy is free and fair elections. These kinds of extreme policies threaten the security of our greatest duty and right as American citizens. I will fight against this and any other elections bills that undermine election integrity.
Bill Would Ban Lead Ammo for Hunting and Trap Shooting
Another recent bill introduction that will be of great interest to hunters and advocates of the 2ndAmendment is HF 3813 which seeks to ban lead ammunition for hunting and trap shooting. The language is too broad – not even defining “lead ammunition” – and the federal government has already been working to prohibit it.
Our hunters are some of the greatest conservationists. They want to protect our wildlife to preserve all the beautiful natural resources our state is blessed with. We do not need bad legislation like this that is too broad and fails to actually preserve our environment.
Precinct Caucuses February 27!
Don’t forget that this Tuesday is precinct caucuses! This is the first step in what will be an exciting election year, so make sure to attend your local caucus and make your voice heard. You can find more information about precinct caucuses here and find your location here.
Finally, a big happy birthday to my youngest, Kahllin who is turning 17 today. Time really flies!