Dear Neighbor,
Let’s start today’s newsletter with a shout-out to all the students who are participating in the High School Page program this year in the Minnesota House of Representatives, including several who are pictured below. The program is exclusive to juniors and I thoroughly enjoy working with these students; it is such a great opportunity for them to work up-close with our state government. While the application window closed for this year, here is a link if you would like to check it out or share it with any sophomores to think about for 2025.
Here’s more from the House this week:
School safety bill gets the final OK
Last week, I mentioned the Minnesota House had approved a bill to resolve last year’s change in law which caused school resource officers to be removed from schools throughout the state. After a hiccup in the Senate on Monday, the bill came back to the House for a vote on final passage and was approved 119-9. The Senate followed suit with overwhelming approval and the governor has now signed the bill into law.
Straw gun purchases
House Republicans yesterday moved to act on a bill (H.F. 548) to increase the penalty for transferring a firearm to an ineligible person, aka, “straw man” purchases. Our move coincided with yesterday’s news an indictment has been filed against someone who allegedly acted as a straw purchaser of the weapons used in the shooting of three first responders in Burnsville. Unfortunately, the House majority voted down our effort to declare urgency on this bill.
Full-time Legislature?
A bill that would make Minnesota the 11th state to have a full-time Legislature has been introduced and is in the initial stages of the committee process.
I disagree with this approach because a part-time Legislature allows members to spend more time back in their home districts, alongside the people we represent at the Capitol. Our Legislature has people with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise, from farmers to teachers, business owners, law enforcement officers, trade workers, lawyers and beyond. The list goes on, and the wide-ranging perspectives provided are an important part of what makes our system of government so special. We work at the Capitol and then come back to our local communities, spending valuable time hearing directly from the people we advocate for at the Capitol. It helps keep us grounded.
Also, we must ask ourselves what legislators would do for the full year and a half after the state budget is set in advance of the fiscal year starting July 1. There’s an old saying about whose workshop idle time becomes and I don’t think we want to go there with state law.
House deadlines
According to legislative rules set by the majority, the first and second deadlines for bills both come on March 22 this year. The first deadline is for committees to act favorably on bills in the House of origin. But that’s a moot point, since this year we jump right to the second deadline, which stipulates committees to act favorably on bills, or companions of bills, that met the first deadline in the other house.
Watch for more news from the House soon. Until then, have a great weekend and please stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Lisa