Dear Neighbors,
The 2024 legislative session is officially underway, and I am looking forward to getting to work on the issues and upholding the values that matter most to the Brainerd Lakes Area.
All of us have felt the consequences of one-party control in our family budgets and our daily lives. Since day one, Democrats in the House and Senate along with Governor Walz have pushed controversial metro-centric policies that have further divided our state while growing government spending to historic levels and raising taxes by nearly $10 billion.
We've had enough of the governor's 'One Minnesota' plan which is a direct attack on communities outside of the Twin Cities. By every metric most of those impacted by the extreme legislation passed in the last year would like to see balance restored in St. Paul and I am more committed than ever to fighting to restore commonsense to the halls of state government.
Part of the fight for restoring commonsense started this week as Republicans tried to pass legislation on day 1 to provide a fix to the School Resource Officers (SROs) issue that has been impacting so many schools across Minnesota.
As you recall, a change in state law last year resulted in the removal of SROs from dozens of school districts. Since then, there’s been several high-profile incidents of violence in schools including a fight at St. Louis Park High School last month.
It is disappointing that Democrats continue to drag their feet on this issue and refuse to provide the clarification law enforcement and school districts are looking for to make sure that these officers can return to schools.
Stay tuned on this, because it is a very important issue that directly impacts the safety of students, teachers, and school staff. I will continue pushing to make sure that this gets done quickly, but we need some Democrats to step up to the plate and join us.
Staying in Touch
Please be sure to reach out to me to share your thoughts, concerns, and ideas. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-4333 or via email at rep.josh.heintzeman@house.mn.gov.
God bless,
Josh