 Dear Neighbors, The House has now passed all of our major budget bills, and now we move on to conference committees with the Senate. This could be an extremely exhausting process, due to the major differences we have on how to spend the surplus. Here’s some good coverage of the differences that we have to work on.  House passed Sports Betting, ball now goes to the Senate In 2018, the United States Supreme Court ended the federal ban on states legalizing sports betting. Since then, 30 states, including every state bordering Minnesota, have legalized the practice. Minnesotans have been waiting a long time for the opportunity to engage in fair sports betting. House DFLers have listened to and consulted with our sovereign tribal nations and stakeholders to ensure the best outcome for Minnesotans. Our bill is a step in the right direction to ensure consumer protection while engaging in sports betting. Among other provisions, the bill: - Allows sports betting in-person at tribal casinos and mobile platforms
- Provides integrity monitoring to identify unfair betting patterns
- Provides data protection for consumers
The bill passed the House with bipartisan support.  Updating Minnesota’s Liquor Laws Wednesday, the Minnesota House approved a bill with a series of reforms to modernize the state’s liquor laws. Our state benefits from our thriving local breweries and distilleries. I’m glad that we could pass this bill that lifts outdated regulations that get in the way. I’ve heard from many brewery employees in my district - I needed to vote to pass this bill for them. Under the bill, small breweries will be able to sell more products directly to consumers, including six and four-packs of beer. You’ll be able to go home with the awesome beer you tried at the brewery. The bill allows micro-distilleries to sell spirits in larger 750ml quantities and allows more distilleries to operate cocktail rooms. Currently, breweries including Castle Danger, Surly, Summit, Schell’s, and Fulton are prohibited from selling growlers to-go from their taprooms because they produce more than 20,000 barrels annually. The legislation increases this cap to 150,000. The bill now returns to the Senate, where Senators will either adopt the House’s version or appoint a conference committee charged with reaching an agreement on each chamber’s differences. Public Safety Conference Committee Conference committees are underway, and we have agreement between the House and Senate on Catalytic Converter theft. I wrote a bit about this in my last update, you can find that here. We need a public safety system that works for everyone. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans keep coming forward with bad-faith arguments about how they “perceive” we are about law enforcement, rather than talking about the bill that we’ve passed. Our Public Safety POCI leader, Chair Carlos Mariani, took a moment in committee to address this. Keep in Touch Thank you for your attention to another e-update. Contact me anytime you have questions or need help at rep.jay.xiong@house.mn or 651-296-4201. Enjoy the weekend! In solidarity, Jay Xiong State Representative |