Dear Neighbor,
The Legislature has now adjourned, putting behind us two years of reckless spending, needless tax increases, extreme policies and broken promises with Democrats in full control of the Capitol.
Here’s a look at how things went down, along with some info on upcoming town hall meetings:
Town hall meetings
Area residents are invited to a series of joint town hall meetings I am co-hosting with Sen. Dahms on Thursday, May 30 in Tracy, Marshall, Canby, Madison, Dawson, and Granite Falls.
These meetings are an opportunity for area residents to receive an update on the recently concluded legislative session and ask questions. We look forward to visiting with our constituents and hope to see you there.
Here is the schedule:
- Tracy: 7:30 – 8:30 a.m., City Hall – Council Chambers, 336 Morgan Street
- Marshall: 9:15 – 10:15 a.m., sponsored by the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce at the YMCA, 200 South A Street
- Canby: 11:00 a.m. – noon, at the City Hall Council Chambers, 110 Oscar Avenue North
- Madison: 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. at the City Hall Auditorium, 404 – 6th Avenue
- Dawson: 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. at the City Building, 675 Chestnut Street
- Granite Falls: 4:15 – 5:15 p.m. at the City Hall Council Chambers, 641 Prentice Street
An expensive two years
With the record $18 billion surplus last year, Minnesotans deserved meaningful tax cuts at a time when in?ation and rising costs of living have family budgets stretched thin. Instead, Democrats went on a spending spree, increasing the budget by 40% – the largest budget increase in Minnesota history – and raising taxes by $10 billion in the process.
When the 2024 session began, Democrats were right back at it, raising the cost of a new worker leave program by half a billion dollars before it even begins, and proposing many other unpopular and unnecessary tax and fee increases on hardworking Minnesotans.
Along the way, Democrats officially put Minnesota taxpayers on the hook for a $730 million State Office Building remodel despite Republicans proposing more reasonably priced alternatives.
More balance needed
One-party rule under Democrats has been bad for Minnesotans who want and deserve a more balanced approach from their government. What we’ve seen the last two years is a narrow legislative majority catering to extreme activists instead of simply listening to everyday Minnesotans and doing what’s right for them. We need more balance at the Capitol to better reflect the best wishes of our state.
Clean-up duty
Republicans spent part of the 2024 session successfully resolving significant problems Democrats created in 2023. Most notably, he pointed to a fix to the tax bill, getting school resource officers back in all the buildings they had been serving, and correcting a net-operating loss issue.
Ambulances/nursing homes
Legislation Republicans championed to provide an additional $30 million for Emergency Ambulance Service Aid also received legislative approval this year. This is on top of the $300 million we successfully negotiated last year.
Extreme legislation
Democrats enacted several highly controversial, partisan policy measures with one party in control the last two years. This includes adopting some of the world’s most extreme abortion policy, enacting a state-funded speech registry that could undermine First Amendment rights, eroding Second Amendment rights, and declaring Minnesota a sanctuary state for transgender healthcare – for children. In addition, a Democrat provision ended electronic pull tabs as we knew them, dealing a major blow to local charitable organizations.
Great win for religious freedom
Religious freedom was another high-profile issue this session after Democrats last year eliminated religious protections against discrimination claims that had been in our state for decades. A variation of Republican legislation was enacted into law this session re-establishing protections for religious entities. It was a major win for us to restore freedom of religion protections that were taken away last year. Not only that, but we also successfully worked to make sure another bill that squashes rights for Minnesotans did not reach enactment this year.
Broken promises
A number of things that did not happen this biennium were the result of Democrats failing to deliver on promises they made to Minnesotans. In particular, this includes voting against bills that would ensure our of?cers have the resources they need, not achieving full Social Security tax relief, and not providing $2,000 rebate checks.
Have a good weekend, thanks for the support and I’ll be back in touch.
Sincerely,
Chris