Friends and Neighbors,
Now that the Legislature is done with its “spring break,” many omnibus budget and policy bills will be heading out of committee and onto the Floor. Yesterday we heard several omnibus bills on transportation and education, among other things. I wanted to give you a brief update on several important happenings around the Capitol this week. Namely, more money for illegal aliens, the Governor’s budget recommendation, and an update on various gun control bills.
The amount of bills introduced by the DFL that prioritize illegal aliens over Minnesota’s own citizens is simply staggering. My House Republican Colleagues and I intend to bring this issue to light in the coming weeks by showing just how destructive these bills can be – we’ll be tallying up the total price tag of the proposals, including but not limited to, free college, free healthcare, a universal basic income, unemployment insurance, and presenting Minnesotans with the total number of exactly how much the DFL is prioritizing illegal aliens over their own citizens. I will not tolerate prioritizing non-citizens over Minnesotans, and I hope you’ll join me in opposing these proposals.
Speaking of spending, the Governor and legislative leaders just released their budgets recently. The Governor’s budget recommendations were shockingly frugal – a sign that he knows that the DFL overspent last session. The Senate and House DFL’s budget, however, spends over double what the Governor recommended with room to grow with even more spending. Remember, this is all taking place in the face of a looming deficit. After blowing a record-breaking surplus, there is no more money to spend, but the DFL intends to try anyway.
I also wanted to update you on the status of several of the gun control bills here at the Legislature. First, it’s important to note that while I may refer to several of these bills as “dead,” nothing is ever really dead here. The good news is that the most egregious gun control bills are likely “dead” this session. Specifically, I don’t see bans on the most common rifle in America or a magazine capacity ban being passed this session. What is moving, however, is the governor’s defenseless storage mandate and mandatory reporting of lost and stolen firearms. The Governor used his highly politicized State of the State Address to call on the legislature to pass these two proposals, so I would expect the DFL to try to pass them this year, maybe in an omnibus bill. The storage mandate is redundant and does nothing to address gun crime. The forced reporting bill just makes a criminal out of a victim. I am a firm no on both bills.
Finally, on the felon voting issue, our friends at the Upper Midwest Law Center were arguing the law in front of the Supreme Court this week. The crux of the lawsuit, as stated by them, is: “Under the Minnesota Constitution, Article VII, Section 1, individuals convicted of a felony may not vote “unless restored to civil rights.” A recent ruling by the Minnesota Supreme Court, Schroeder v. Simon, states that restoration of civil rights occurs upon completion of the felony sentence. The new law grants felons still under sentence, but on supervised release the ability to vote in Minnesota elections, directly contradicting constitutional law.”
I firmly believe that violent criminals shouldn’t be able to vote while still serving their sentence, especially given the fact that very, very few criminals go to jail in this state.
You can read more about the lawsuit and the Upper Midwest Law Center HERE.