Dear neighbor,
We spent a lot of time this week on the House floor. On Monday, we had our first major debate of session on the rules governing the House. I was disappointed that members of the House DFL majority voted to curtail the rights of members to offer amendments on the floor. Now, all floor amendments must be offered 24 hours in advance of the bill being up for possible debate. This rule change is completely un-Minnesotan and flies in the face of our long standing tradition of good governance. We believe in a Minnesota where all voices are heard. By proposing this unprecedented change, the House DFL leadership is admitting that complete control isn’t enough. Now they want to silence the minority. This seems to be the tale of two legislatures - one that invites robust discussion to deliver the best outcome for all Minnesotans and the other that stifles debate in the interest of the DFL Minneapolis-St. Paul leaders' agenda.
Yesterday, we debated the state employee contract agreements on the House floor. I believe our state employees are good hard-working people who deserve fair compensation. My concern about these contracts arose after hearing the DFL chair of the Joint Subcommittee on Employee Relations tell committee members that they were just supposed to “rubber stamp” the contracts and pass them on to the next committee. I worry that with this pay increase, union leadership will just require higher union dues. We shouldn’t enrich union leaders and partisan organizations off the backs of hard-working state employees.
On Tuesday, I was proud to attend the semi-annual Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) Legislative Dinner. Protecting innocent life remains a priority of mine. Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, close to 56 million babies’ lives have been terminated. In Minnesota alone, 500,000 abortions have been performed since then – much of them done at the expense of taxpayers. That is wrong and I will continue to fight to protect precious human life.
As the legislative session moves forward, I will continue to keep you updated. For legislative updates, you can “like” my official Facebook page. Also, if you are on Twitter, you can follow me at @RepMaryFranson.
I am always interested in your feedback. Please feel free to contact me by e-mail at Rep.Mary.Franson@House.MN or contact my office at 651-296-3201. You can also send mail to my office address: 211 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.
Sincerely,
Mary