Dear Neighbor,
We could spend the next several hundred words talking about extreme bills House Democrats continued moving through the process this week. Just like we did last week. And the week before. And probably will do again next week. And the week after that and the rest of the session.
Instead, for today, let’s talk about some bills I am authoring that actually help Minnesotans any number of ways. Here we go:
H.F. 528 requires solar garden subscribers to reside in the same county as the solar garden facility.
Minnesota’s community solar gardens were intended to provide access to solar power to renters, condo owners, and other residential customers without the capability to install rooftop solar panels. Over the past few years, this has evolved into a lucrative subsidy program for the benefit out-of-state corporations. Xcel has estimated that 87 percent of existing gardens are owned by out-of-state corporations.
Meanwhile, Xcel Energy has said the program imposes an extra $143 million in costs on electricity customers. Adding insult to injury is that solar gardens are not displacing coal and natural gas power – they are crowding out cheaper and more efficient solar power alternatives, costing more than triple the rates charged by competing technology.
We need to adopt reforms that get us back to the program’s original purpose of serving residential consumers or, at the very least, make sure this isn’t a case where Minnesotans are subjects of out-of-state grifters.
H.F. 659 recognizes our constitutional right to carry a firearm – no permission slip from the government required. Concealed carry laws don’t stop criminal from carrying without a license – the just create obstacles for law-abiding citizens. My bill allows hard-working individuals, including lower earners, to protect themselves without undue burden.
Around half of the 50 states provide constitutional carry rights. As you might expect from law-abiding citizens, multiple studies show no violent crime increases from this growing trend, despite what the naysayers may like you to believe.
And, I know I wasn’t going to do this today, but House Democrats are finishing the week by conducting committee hearings for numerous anti-Second Amendment bills they propose. Once again, these extreme bills would do more to burden law-abiding citizens than get serious about deterring violent criminals.
H.F. 341 is a bill I’ve co-authored to end the prohibition on new nuclear power plants. This should receive bipartisan support, especially in light of the House Democrats’ push to make our state carbon-neutral by 2040. In fact, this bill could be a lifeline to the majority after it just passed the “Blackout Bill” that increases consumer energy prices, reduces power reliability and ultimately compromises safety.
This bill would allow our state to harness the unlimited power of breakthrough nuclear technology that currently is being developed –one major tool we could use to bolster our energy grid that already was facing capacity shortages before House Democrats made things even worse with the Blackout Bill.
Watch for more from the House soon. Have a good weekend and please be in touch.
Sincerely,
Chris