Dear Neighbor,
It’s no secret House Democrats are coming for our Second Amendment rights, so it only makes perverse sense for them to start chipping away at our First Amendment rights as well since the two go hand in hand.
Measures to kneecap both of those fundamental rights were included in one omnibus public safety package (S.F. 2909) House Democrats approved this week. I was a strong “no” vote on each because I honor our Constitution, pledged to uphold it and cherish the rights it provides.
One measure in the bill creates a hate-incident registry where the state would establish a government database of perceived “hate incidents” that fall short of criminal acts. To be clear, we’re not talking about “hate crimes” because those already are tracked. Instead, the bill gives state authority to collect data about crimes of bias that have not been reported to law enforcement – so there is no documentation that the event happened – but people still could be placed in a “hate incident” registry.
The bill also features anti-Second Amendment language from two controversial gun control bills: H.F. 14 (universal gun registration) and H.F. 15 (red flag). I support our law enforcement officers’ concerns about provisions that are unworkable and unrealistic to enforce on the streets. Instead of addressing the root causes of violent crime, this bill will create strict and impractical hurdles for law-abiding Minnesotans seeking to exercise their Second Amendment rights. Criminals looking to acquire firearms will not follow the complex new process laid out in the proposal and it will do nothing to stop the flow of firearms among criminals.
Our efforts instead should be focused on enforcing the numerous laws we already have governing firearm transfers before the Legislature creates new ones that will harm law-abiding citizens and are unlikely to deter bad actors.
Let’s hope a conference committee does the right thing by eliminating these provisions before the bill comes back for a vote on final passage.
Bill shorts nursing home funding
House Democrats approved a bill Tuesday which ignores a long-term care crisis in our state by severely underfunding this portion of the state budget.
The House Human Services Finance omnibus package (S.F. 2934) came to the floor accounting for just .01 percent of the Democrats’ $72 billion budget proposal that consumes the state’s $19 billion surplus and increases state General Fund spending by 40 percent.
It’s amazing House Democrats were perfectly happy to approve spending $17,000 per month in rent for the governor but can’t find it within themselves to adequately support people who rely on long-term care and the people who provide these essential services. As with so many bills we’ve seen this session, it just reeks of misplaced – or completely absent – priorities in the House majority. We, as legislators, are sent to the Capitol to do what’s right by the citizens of Minnesota but House Democrats continue to fail miserably at their job.
The majority passed some of the world’s most radical abortion policies earlier this session, drawing questions about how they prioritize newborns. Now, they are causing more to wonder where elderly, vulnerable citizens and care workers rank by underfunding them at a time they are funneling taxpayer money to special interests left and right.
Meanwhile Minnesota is in the midst of a “silver tsunami,” with more than 1.3 million state residents aged 65 or older. As these residents age, their need for care grows and it is unfortunate to see Minnesota is not keeping up with these needs. A reported 2,597 nursing home beds have been taken out of service in Minnesota since 2020, the equivalent of shuttering 52, 50-bed homes. The long-term care industry in Minnesota, currently is operating with a worker shortage of 53,000 and that, in the month of October alone, 11,000 elderly residents were turned away from nursing homes – largely due to lack of staff.
The inability to fully staff our nursing homes then places added strains on hospitals, with nearly 20 percent of their bed space taken up by people who could be better served recovering in nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
The one ray of hope we have on this issue is this bill is destined for a conference committee that still could make necessary changes before we have a vote on final passage. I’ll keep pushing for additional long-term care funding to be provided and urge area residents to do the same.
Labor bill
House Democrats also have approved a horrific labor-related bill (S.F. 3035) that will decimate smaller general contractors at a time when we have a lack of affordable housing as well as housing over-all. All in the name of forced unionization.
A good labor bill would strengthen our workforce and improve the quality of jobs and workplace for Minnesotans. This bill does neither. Instead, it heaps more mandates on Minnesota’s job creators and will do more to get rid of jobs than it will to get people back to work. One-size-fits-all mandates and more red tape will only further drive up labor costs and make it more difficult for employers to provide good jobs for Minnesotans.
Yet again, our small businesses are the ones hurt most by these bad House Democrat policies. We need to be going the opposite direction by lifting burdens and mandates off the backs of employers who are doing their best to keep their doors open and Minnesotans employed.
Have a good weekend and I’ll be back soon with more. Here’s hoping conference committees do good work to make all these omnibus bills better before we have votes on final approval.
Sincerely,
Shane