Dear Neighbor,
Before we get down to official business, I want to congratulate Paynesville third-grader Brooklyn Binsfeld and fourth-grader Tyson Meagher for winning Northland Youth Wrestling Association championships during the state tournament in Rochester last weekend. Brooklyn won the first-ever girls tournament bracket! Way to go, Tyson and Brooklyn!
As for this week’s notes from the House:
No movement on public safety
Public safety is a major issue for Minnesotans in light of the spike in violent crime our state has been experiencing. It is concerning to see such little progress on solutions at this point, more than two months into the 2022 session.
House Republicans put forth a package of “Safety in our Cities” bills earlier this session that provide common-sense solutions to help keep Minnesotans and our visitors safe. It is a three-pronged approach aimed at holding criminals responsible for their actions, helping recruit and retain peace officers, and providing transparency to prosecution’s charging decisions and the court’s sentencing decisions.
So far, the majority has chosen to not conduct hearings for bills in our package, including legislation (H.F. 3387) I have authored providing pathway-to-policing grant funding. In addition, a handful of Democrat-authored bills were introduced to address violent crimes and issues related to recruiting and retaining law enforcement officers. But, once again, the House Democrats would not even conduct hearings for bills fellow Democrats have authored on this subject.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans have been moving a public safety bill which features many of the initiatives House Republicans support, including criminalizing the offense of carjacking, increasing penalties for violent crimes by repeat offenders and heightening transparency when prosecutors dismiss charges on a case.
Let’s hope the House majority gets serious about tackling this issue down the stretch this session because, if nothing else, people deserve to feel safe in our state.
No spending totals
Odd-numbered years are when the Legislature establishes new two-year budgets for the state, as was the case in 2021. We revisit the budget to make any necessary adjustments, fix clerical errors, etc., in even-numbered years such as this.
But, with a $10 billion state surplus, there seem to be more budget-related discussions taking place in 2022 than normally would happen in an even-numbered year. The caveat to this is House Democrats have been mum about the spending totals they propose for various aspects of government. In other words, a lack of transparency has not allowed the public to see what the majority plans to do with the $10 billion the state has over-collected from taxpayers.
That said, House Republicans have dug through the data and determined that, with a massive state surplus, House Democrats propose an estimated $21 in government spending for every $1 in tax cuts. This runs completely contrary to the approach we should be taking to provide permanent, meaningful relief to overtaxed Minnesotans at a time we all are dealing with historic price increases and the state has an unprecedented surplus.
Tax increase still unresolved
There still is no corrective movement to report after House Democrat inaction caused Minnesota employers to suffer a significant increase on their unemployment insurance rates. We can put this issue to rest if the House simply would pass legislation the Senate approved a month and a half ago with a veto-proof majority. But, so far, the House majority has not allowed this bill to come to the floor for a vote.
Have a good weekend and, as always, please stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Lisa