Dear Neighbors,
The legislature approved the remaining bills needed to avoid a government shutdown last evening. In addition to avoiding a government shutdown, we were able to once and for all end the peacetime emergency.
Over the past year, House Republicans have worked tirelessly to end Gov. Walz’s powers and end the emergency. We forced over 20 votes on ending the powers and have been putting pressure on Gov. Walz and Democrats to bring the peacetime emergency to an end and restore the Legislature's constitutional role as a co-equal branch of government.
The fight is not over. We know we need to make permanent changes to the Chapter 12 Emergency Powers statute to rein in the Governor and make sure future governors can't abuse emergency powers like Gov. Walz has for the past year. We also will continue our work to make sure Gov. Walz is held accountable for the damage he and House Democrats have done to our state over the past year and a half through their business shutdowns, executive orders, wasteful spending of COVID dollars, and more.
While I didn’t vote for many of the budget bills, I was ultimately pleased that the major tax increases and radical policies pushed by House Democrats earlier this year were defeated and that the Taxes bill included PPP and UI relief that will help thousands of many Minnesotans.
With divided government, we must understand that neither party will get everything that they want, and that compromise is key to reaching agreement. It appears that was the path that the Senate Republican majority and House Democrat majority chose when negotiating these bills.
Staying in Touch
I look forward to seeing you all out and about this summer at parades and other community events!
That’s all for today’s update. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me to share any thoughts, concerns, or questions you may have. I can be reached by phone at either 651-296-4929 or 701-361-1909. I can also be reached via email at rep.jeff.backer@house.mn.
Have a good day,
Jeff