Dear Neighbor, We have a lot of ground to cover in this week’s newsletter with so much going on at the Capitol, in the courts and wherever the House Democrats happen to be since they still are not showing up for work. Let’s get right to it:  March for Life It was so nice to see such a large crowd once again show up at the Capitol to rally for the unborn during the annual March for Life event recently. Thanks to all who braved the chilly weather to attend again this year in support of this great cause! Explosive Higher Ed meeting  As Chair of the House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee, I am working hard to bring a new level of accountability to our taxpayer-funded institutions. A committee meeting I conducted last week (above) became heated when I started probing into exactly why the University of Minnesota is supporting, promoting and even awarding groups which foster hate toward law enforcement officers (full hearing video). Thankfully, this video is still available on YouTube as after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled on Friday, that 68 members of the House of Representatives is needed to organize the House. All the work that was done in every committee hearing, and all bills that had been introduced, were scrubbed from the legislative website. For example:  In the particular case I addressed during our Higher Ed meeting, Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) appears to be a radical extremist nonprofit posing as an educational group. Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA) came and testified during the hearing about the dangerous lies about law enforcement CUAPB put on social media. For the specific details, watch the hearing. I’m urging the U of M to sever its ties with any and all groups that promote anti-police rhetoric and perpetuate hate. I’m keeping a close eye on this. Meanwhile, our committee is also looking into if the U of M has administrative bloat as many have alleged. One of my top priorities is streamlining government to deliver affordable and flexible education to Minnesota students and citizens. We can start by reducing ever-rising administrative costs that continue driving up tuition. KSTP TV ran a story on our committee’s discussion on that subject. Supreme Court decision As mentioned earlier, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Friday that a quorum requires 68 House members to be in attendance. The number 68 is important because it’s more than half of the state’s full 134-member delegation in the House of Representatives. The issue, and where many believe the Court was wrong in its decision, is the House currently has only 133 members because a Democrat candidate caught cheating in a Roseville/Shoreview district was prohibited from being seated. With that in mind, 67 members is more than half of the 133 current House members and should be considered a quorum. It is unfortunate Democrats were able to weaponize the Supreme Court to bring all House activities to a screeching halt. Apparently, the Democrats will go to any lengths to prevent Republicans from going to work for Minnesotans, investigating fraud and making life more affordable for Minnesotans. Instead of accepting that their candidate cheated and proceeding accordingly, they are holding the Legislature hostage in order to shut down the work of the people. Committee obstruction House Democrats are now in their third week of boycotting the 2025 legislative session. They are not participating in the legislative process at the Capitol and remain derelict in their duties as elected State Representatives. Even worse, House Democrats are now using social media to encourage people to storm the Capitol and obstruct the legislative process.  The above image was posted several hours before the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee met. Here’s what followed (video):  This does not appear to be a one-off attack on the Republican Members who have shown up to do the work for the citizens, because the House Democrats continue inciting this threatening behavior:  It’s one thing for House Democrats to “stage a boycott” and NOT SHOW UP TO WORK, but to incite their followers to threaten House members who do show up to work is beyond the pale. They will have to answer to their constituents themselves. The good news is House Republicans are on task. We are making progress on our core priorities, including cracking down on fraud and making Minnesota a more affordable place to live and do business. Here’s more on those two subjects: Cracking down on fraud  Over the past few years, Minnesota has had over $500 million stolen by fraudsters, with some estimates climbing as high as $1 billion. Remember the Feeding Our Future scheme, where fraudsters made off with $250 million that was intended to feed hungry kids? We’ve also had fraud reported in childcare assistance, frontline worker pay, autism centers … the list goes on and on at the expense of taxpayers. Minnesota taxpayers deserve better, so House Republicans are working hard to bring accountability back to state government. Three of the first 10 bills we introduced (all of which have been removed from the official Legislative website and will be reintroduced once Democrats show up to work so the House can be organized) this session are aimed at stopping fraud, including two of which I’m co-authoring. These measures are needed now more than ever and include: - House File 1: Establishes a centralized Office of the Inspector General to lead the fight against fraud across state programs. The bill consolidates agency-based inspector general offices into a unified entity, requires agencies to halt payments when fraud is suspected, and mandates the creation of a fraud reporting hotline. Additionally, it provides funding to ensure the new OIG has the resources to be effective.
- House File 2 (I’m a co-author): Strengthens fraud prevention by mandating stricter reporting requirements for state agencies and equipping them with additional tools to identify and prevent fraudulent activities. This bill emphasizes transparency and swift action to address fraud concerns.
- House File 3 (I’m a co-author): Establishes “fraud notes,” a groundbreaking tool to assess the susceptibility of proposed legislation to fraud. Similar to fiscal notes, fraud notes would provide lawmakers with an evaluation of potential fraud risks before enacting new programs or policies.
 House Republicans had a press conference on the subject of fraud this week (above) and you can click this link to view it. Affordable Minnesota  Minnesotans have had their pocketbooks stretched thin by historic inflation, irresponsible spending and unnecessary tax increases. House Republicans are focusing on making Minnesota more affordable for families and businesses. This includes repealing the things that pinch family budgets, such as the automatic gas tax increase, delivery taxes, social security taxes, and policies that are driving up the cost of energy. Bills we have introduced so far include (All these bills have been removed from the official Legislative website due to the actions of the MN Supreme Court, they will be reintroduced when we are organized): - House File 4: Proposes a constitutional amendment to make sure that substantial, future budget surpluses are returned to the taxpaying citizens of Minnesota.
- House File 5: Repeals many of the taxes that Democrats passed in 2023 including the automatic gas tax increase, the delivery tax and fully exempts social security from state income taxes. It also looks at options to reduce vehicle tab fees.
- House File 9: Rolls back some of the onerous mandates Democrats approved with full control of the Capitol, lifts Minnesota’s nuclear power moratorium, and expands the tax exemption on natural gas and electric derived residential heat to help save Minnesota families money.
Watch for more from the Capitol soon as these and other issues continue developing. As always, your correspondence is welcome and highly appreciated. |