Dear Neighbor,
With the 2018 legislative session set to start in just a few weeks, I made the trek down to St. Paul this week to get things in order regarding some bills I am introducing this year. Anything to help my bills hit the ground running come Feb. 20 is time well spent.
One of the proposals I am working on would crack down on con artists who target veterans’ pension benefits. I authored legislation on this issue last year and, even though it was well-received during the committee process, some tweaks were necessary to make it a cleaner bill this time around.
The background on this issue is that a number of complaints have been filed in our state indicating predatory lenders are deceiving veterans and their beneficiaries in order to defraud them of pension funds. Last year we heard an example where a person took a $30,000 loan against their pension and it turned into a $105,000 payoff amount.
The problem we are trying to fix is that, while federal law prohibits these despicable actions, our state law does not provide tools for enforcement. My bill would provide legal recourse, protecting veterans from predatory contracts and also allowing the state attorney general to investigate and/or prosecute if necessary.
I also am working on legislation to help improve the system for delivering chemical health treatment so help gets to the people who need it. At the local level, I continue working on the proposed Bemidji veterans home and the Hagg-Sauer Hall overhaul at BSU. Also, the task force I created to address transportation infrastructure in our region is now meeting and I look forward to reports from that group.
Those are just a few of the many subjects I look forward to taking on during the upcoming weeks and months. I will pass along more particulars on some of the session’s top issues soon but, until then, your comments always are welcome through email.
Sincerely,
Matt