Thank you so much to all the students who participated in this week’s TeenPact event at the Capitol in St. Paul. It was nice to see an amazing turnout, with 85 kids from throughout the state doing a great job engaging in the governmental process, learning and having fun challenging each other at the same time.
Dear Neighbor,
We are now in the final month of the 2024 legislative session and omnibus finance packages are coming to the floor for votes of the full body. While the state’s two-year budget already is in place, Democrats have decided to spend another half a billion dollars on top of the 40-percent spending increase they enacted less than one year ago.
As the ranking Republican on issues related to energy, I am paying especially close attention to that omnibus package. My focus remains advocating for policies that provide Minnesotans with access to affordable power on a stable grid.
Anti-Second Amendment bills
Three stand-alone anti-gun bills have made it through the committee process and are scheduled to be on the floor Monday for votes of the full House. H.F. 601 puts the onus on the victim of a crime to file a report to law enforcement within the government’s definition of reasonable time. H.F. 4300 improved during the committee process, but still places additional firearm storage burdens on law-abiding firearm owners. I also have concerns over H.F. 2609, which includes an expanded definition of trigger activators, which may impact some commonly used guns.
Watch for more on these bills as developments occur. I’m a strong supporter of our Second Amendment rights and enforcing existing laws to get violent criminals off the street is the best thing we can do to make our state safer.
It will be interesting to see what unfolds between now and our May 20 date to adjourn. Will it be a flurry of extreme legislation at the finish like we saw last year? Or will common sense and bipartisanship prevail with turmoil over in the Senate? Time will tell.
Until next time, have a good weekend and please stay in touch. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.
Sincerely,
Chris