Dear Friends,
This week, the Minnesota House finally approved a solution that fixes the problematic school resource officer (SRO) law that forced dozens of law enforcement agencies to pull SROs from schools statewide. Below is an update on this issue and a few other points as well.
SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER FIX PASSED
The issue traces back to an omnibus education bill Democrats enacted in 2023 that imposed prohibitions on the use of force in schools, banning certain physical holds by “an employee or agent of a district, including a school resource officer, security personnel, or police officer contracted with a district."
This bill fix is the result of months of negotiations bringing together law enforcement, school officials, legislators from both sides of the aisle, and other stakeholder groups. Language in the new measure excludes SROs as employees or agents of a school district and excludes them from the prohibitions on prone restraints and physical holds. School resource officers would still be accountable under regular law enforcement policies and restrictions for restraints.
The bill was approved with overwhelming bipartisan support, and I am happy with the agreement. It’s worth noting that the proposal still must be approved by the Senate, where it is currently stalled in committee, and then signed by the governor. Let’s hope the plan begins moving forward very soon so all of the schools who have been without an SRO will see them return.
ALLOWING YOU TO VOTE ON THE NEW STATE FLAG
Should a group of thirteen appointed individuals or all Minnesota voters make the final decision on whether to approve a new state flag?
This session, I am coauthoring legislation that would allow Minnesotans to vote on the new flag design that has been approved by the Minnesota State Emblems Redesign Commission. If approved, the issue would be placed on the ballot this November, and voters would be asked to vote yes or no on whether the new flag represents them. If a majority of say yes, the work is done. If a majority say no, the redesign process would start over.
A recent analysis found that roughly 75% of Minnesotans have some level of dissatisfaction over the process to create a new state flag or the final product itself. With that in mind, it seems like no-brainer to let people vote and have a voice in approving a new state flag.
IS THERE REALLY A BILL THAT WOULD REQUIRE PAINTERS IN MINNESOTA TO BE LICENSED?
I have had a number of questions over the last couple of weeks concerning a Democrat bill that has been introduced in both the House and Senate. HF3633/SF3554 would require basically all painters in Minnesota to get licensed by the state or work as a journey worker under a licensed contractor.
Do you pick up a few weekend jobs painting rooms or homes? Do you have a special talent painting decorative frescos or murals? Or, maybe you're just self-employed as a painter? You and any other painter who does painting jobs in Minnesota would be affected by this legislation. The bill will also restrict the sale of paint to licensed individuals, except for small amounts. So good luck buying paint if you are remodeling and want to paint your own home.
Bills like this are a perfect example of the utter ridiculousness and lack of common sense that now seem to permeate much of government. Since when has anyone been hurt by a bad paint job? One can fix a bad paint job by simply painting over it. It's a lot harder to fix stupid.
This is a solution looking for a problem. Actually, it's probably worse than that. It really smacks of weaponizing the law to benefit certain special interest groups. I will be a definite no vote if this bill comes to the floor for a vote.
LOCAL VISITORS
It was so nice to see these local Albert Lea residents at the Capitol for Minnesota Realtors’ Day on the Hill. They not only enjoyed discussing realtor issues with legislators, but also observing state government in action. Thank you to Robert, Aaron, Shannon, and Jackson for visiting. It was great to see you!
I also met with local Shell Rock River Watershed District board members and staff, Andy Henschel, Brad Kramer, and Mike Lee. (Also pictured is Jeff Gertger from a different watershed district.)
It was nice to host them in my office, discuss watershed issues, and get an update on the progress of the Fountain Lake dredging project which received state funding last year. Behind the scenes work, like permitting, is happening now and will continue for quite some time. If all goes well with the permitting (and I will be monitoring and on hand to support this effort) we should see the dredge back in the lake for the 2025 and 2026 dredging seasons. In addition, I will also continue to work alongside the Watershed Board to continue to push for Bancroft Bay to be included in this dredging.
It was also great to see Daphne Hamberg and Leslie Kaup at the Capitol.
They visited with the Land Stewardship Project group, discussing issues such as beginning farmers and the Farm to School program.
Have a good weekend,
Peggy