Dear neighbor,
It’s omnibus bill season in the House. In other words, the majority is lumping its little, bad bills together to make big, bad bills.
Take provisions related to labor, for instance. As a member of the House committee on that subject, I share extensive concerns about numerous measures in that package that would be damaging to our construction industry.
Let’s start with the fact it makes honest actors who make good-faith mistakes liable for various violations and overly punitive penalties. There also is great concern about a provision giving Gov. Walz’s Commissioner of Labor & Industry the authority to take a single, isolated violation at one jobsite and subject a contractor to close of all its jobsites.
Oh, and we haven’t even gotten to all the mandates that will only serve to drive up construction costs even further at a time we need more affordable housing.
We’re just scratching the surface here. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about this bill when it’s in final form and coming to the House floor for a vote of the full body. Here are some other notes for now:
EMS FUNDING SHORTAGE
House Republicans hosted a press conference this week to call for full funding to address Minnesota's critical Emergency Medical Services shortfall of over $120 million.
This funding shortage threatens the stability of our emergency response system and ultimately puts the lives of Minnesotans at risk. The Democrats recently unveiled a plan to spend another half a billion dollars the next three years but only put $16 million toward the EMS crisis. That is far short of what is needed for this core public safety service and only a tiny fraction of the $730 million Democrats spent to renovate their own office building.
Priorities? What priorities?
TAX DAY
Tax Day was this week and the income tax obligations for most Minnesotans have now been met. Here’s the problem: People continue to feel the pain of increased everyday tax burdens thanks to the decisions made by a Democrat-controlled state government.
Last year, Democrats raised taxes on Minnesotans by $10 billion despite an $18 billion state surplus and continue to find new ways to take more money out of family budgets. Of the $10 billion in Democrat tax hikes, only $3 billion of it has gone into effect and it’s going to get worse. For example, one-party Democrat control voted to make everything you order to your door more expensive. Their new delivery tax takes effect in 11 weeks.
In just one year we went from a record surplus to a projected deficit thanks to reckless spending.
With rising gas, groceries, mortgage rates, and energy prices, Republicans continue working to eliminate wasteful government spending so we can deliver permanent tax relief for Minnesota families to help you afford everyday necessities. This includes fully eliminating the state tax on Social Security.
YOUR $ TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Democrats are pushing legislation to make Minnesota a sanctuary state. This would make our state a haven for illegal immigrants at a time we face a crisis at our nation’s southern border. They spent last year’s session priming the pump by providing driver’s licenses for all, automatic voter registration, and incentives to not work. This year, they have authored legislation prohibiting state or local government from cooperating with federal immigration agencies to further entice the resettlement of illegals in Minnesota.
Aside from social costs, there are serious questions about how much of an actual price there is for Minnesota taxpayers to pay to support people who are in our state illegally.
House Republicans offered an amendment on the floor this week to clarify the new American grant program does not apply to illegal residents, but House Democrats turned that down. During debate, a fellow Republican asked a simple question: What percentage of our state budget should be spent on people here illegally? The question was posed to 10 different DFL members, and each one refused to answer. Click here for a clip of how this unfolded in the House chamber.
The fact the majority refuses to even talk about this issue tells you everything you need to know about how the majority is catering to extreme activists at the expense of everyday Minnesotans like us.
Sincerely,
Shane