Greetings,
With only three weeks left in the legislative session, the Minnesota House has approved roughly 2/3 of its budget bills, and the Minnesota Senate is in the same position. Before long, we will need to set joint targets – which are agreed upon numbers that determine the level of spending that will happen in a particular budget area. The sooner we receive these numbers, the sooner we can finalize compromise legislation and finish our work.
MINNESOTA HOUSE APPROVES OMNIBUS COMMERCE BILLS
On April 29, the Minnesota House of Representatives approved both the omnibus commerce finance and policy bills. Some of the noteworthy provisions in them include reducing the money available for people to start a cannabis business, and changing a law that would have caused Medicare supplement premiums to rise rapidly as it allows people to switch health care policies at any time. As you can imagine, people constantly switching policies would be a budget buster.
As co-chair of this committee, I’m pleased our agreement also found areas to reduce future spending while preventing more costly mandates from being implemented, as we are projected to face a $6 billion deficit in the next budget cycle.
REQUIRE ICE NOTIFICATION WHEN VIOLENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED?
Most people I talk with believe that immigrants are important to our society, but are quick to say they should be here legally. Legal immigration allows the government to screen individuals to ensure they’re healthy, able to contribute to society in a positive way, and are not bad actors. Illegal immigration has allowed far too many bad actors to settle in this country and commit violent crimes.
To avoid these situations in the future, the Minnesota House recently debated a proposal to require local law enforcement to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when illegal immigrants are arrested for violent crimes like murder, assault, carjacking, or kidnapping. Modeled after the federal Laken Riley Act, the bill also aimed to ban sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Despite its focus on public safety, the bill failed in a 67-67 tie, with all Republicans supporting it and all Democrats opposing it.
ATTORNEY GENERAL ELLISON FACES SCRUTINY
The Minnesota House's new fraud committee has been hard at work finding serious issues of financial mismanagement in state government. This week, Attorney General Keith Ellison testified about his office’s involvement in the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud case. Leaked audio reveals Ellison expressing sympathy for some East African businesses under investigation and offering to pressure state agencies on their behalf, despite his role as their legal representative. His past claims of early involvement in the investigation now conflict with statements denying prior knowledge. Ellison’s testimony left many unanswered questions, highlighting the need for continued investigation.
KEEP IN TOUCH
As always, I'm continuing to support constituent needs. Feel free to contact me anytime at rep.tim.odriscoll@house.mn.gov or by phone at 651-296-7808.
Have a good weekend,
Tim