Dear Neighbor, Lots to report from the House this week, starting with the fact a bill I authored to help soaring data center investments in Minnesota continue cleared its first committee hurdle Thursday. The data industry is exploding in Minnesota, fueled by the growth of AI technology. Plans are underway to construct a massive data center in our district, using two parcels of land totaling nearly 600 acres at the Xcel Sherco coal plant site in Becker. Obsolete regulations giving the Public Utilities Commission purview emergency backup generators exceeding 50,000 kilowatts are proving to be an obstacle at that site and other parts of the state where similar projects are proposed. Throughout our state, there’s easily $80 billion in private investment and thousands of permanent jobs hinging on this bill. Not to mention probably 10,000 construction jobs lasting a handful of years at each site. This is an economic opportunity unlike anything Minnesota has ever seen, and we need to capitalize, or another state will. To put it in perspective, the potential investment from my bill is so big it even exceeds the governor’s inflated $70 billion state budget proposal. My bill (H.F. 28) exempts emergency backup generation at a single site with a combined generation of 50,000 kilowatts or more from needing to secure a certificate of need required for large energy facilities. The bill also makes a combination of emergency backup generators to serve one person or located on property owned or controlled by one person an applicable project. Furthermore, the bill provides more efficiency regarding environmental impact statements, with supplemental analysis. This part of the bill is key because it eliminates duplicity, allowing a project to start based on responsible local government analysis and conducting additional environmental impact studies if the need arises in the future. This is a time-sensitive issue that we need to resolve before this window of opportunity closes on us. Minnesota’s excessive regulations already have caused us to lose out to neighboring states too many times. It cannot happen this time, not with something this big. The House Energy Finance and Policy Committee approved my bill, sending it to an environmental committee for further review so stay tuned. Keeping men out of women’s sports It’s sad there’s even a debate about whether men should be allowed to participate in women’s sports, but here we are. Let’s start with the good news: President Trump recently issued an executive order entitled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” to uphold fairness and safety. House Republicans share President Trump’s position and have authored H.F. 12, which says: “Only students of the female sex may participate in an elementary or secondary school athletic team or sport that an educational institution has restricted on the basis of sex to women or girls.” On the other hand, the Minnesota State High School League stated it intends to not to comply with President Trump’s recent executive order prohibiting men from playing women’s sports. Did the MSHSL not see the polls showing 80 percent agree that biological sex should determine participation in sports, and that those born male at birth should be excluded from women’s sports? Or, did they see the polls but would rather cater to the radicals in the 20 percent? In any case, House Republicans sent a letter to the MSHSL Director expressing concern over that organization’s position. You can read the letter here. The big question is where House Democrats will stand on this bill when it comes to the floor for a vote. It’s the difference between siding with extreme activists in the minority, or joining the rest of us who want to support our daughters through fair and safe competition.  Surplus dollars back to taxpayers Minnesota had an $18 billion surplus in the last biennium. Instead of returning those dollars to taxpayers, the Democrat trifecta went on a spending spree, increasing the state budget by 40 percent. House Republicans have authored a bill (H.F. 4) that could help make sure that never happens again. With approval of a constitutional amendment, this bill establishes the Minnesota tax relief account, with the legislature appropriating funds each biennium into this fund to return excess tax collections back to taxpayers via refunds. Any projected revenues that go over 5 percent of projected expenditures according to the last biennial budget forecast will be used to fund the account. This proposal is part of a larger package unveiled by House Republicans aimed at addressing Minnesota’s rising cost of living. Others include HF 5, which repeals a retail delivery fee and eliminates the state tax on Social Security income, and HF 9, which modernizes renewable energy policies by including hydroelectric power as an eligible renewable energy source, delaying impractical mandates, and protecting reliable energy infrastructure to stabilize energy costs. Watch for more from the House soon. For now, have a good weekend and please stay in touch. Sincerely, Shane |