Capitol Newsletter from Rep. Paul Novotny

Dear Neighbors,

Things are getting busier in St. Paul as legislative activity is beginning to pick up. Next week, the Governor is set to release his budget proposal. This budget proposal, coupled with the February budget forecast, will set the table for this session’s main event—debating and approving a two-year state budget. I will share details next week on the Governor’s budget proposal.

I have authored and am co-author on a handful of bills this session. Here is a quick overview of a few of these bills.

• House File 129: This legislation would ensure that anyone convicted of trespassing could also be held liable for property damages they caused to critical infrastructure while engaged in trespassing. It would also hold any entity or organization that recruited or trained individuals that trespassed and caused property damage to also be held liable. This is in direct response to ongoing and planned protests seeking to disrupt construction of the Enbridge Line 3 replacement pipeline in northern Minnesota.
• House File 128: This bill increases transparency in Minnesota’s bail system and comes in response to a local news report that found a Minnesota nonprofit had bailed out defendants from Twin Cities jails who were arrested for murder, sex crimes, and other violent felonies. The organization cited in the story, Minnesota Freedom Fund, received millions of dollars in donations from Democrats and Hollywood celebrities in the wake of the George Floyd death. This bill would change state law to make public the names of third-party entities that post bail for a defendant.
• House File 131: I am co-author on this bill with several others. This legislation is this year’s “Stand Your Ground” bill.
• House File 26: This is a bill authored by Rep. Tony Jurgens that I am co-author on that would end state taxation on Social Security benefits – a move that would benefit every Minnesota senior citizen.
• House File 101: This bill, authored by Rep. Steve Green, would provide significant changes to the state’s current emergency powers law. The change would limit the Governor to a seven-day emergency declaration before being required to call the legislature into session to extend the declaration. If a majority in both legislative bodies do not affirm the extension, the emergency would end. This would represent a significant change to the current, broken system.

Click here for a full list of bills I have authored or co-authored: https://bit.ly/3sJO8Vx

Staying in Touch

Please be sure to reach out to me if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas on ways to improve state government. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-4237 or via email at rep.paul.novotny@house.mn.

Have a great day,

Paul