Dear Neighbors,
Yesterday, the House debated and voted on the final budget bills of the 2023 legislative session. Now that each of these bills has received initial approval, they will head to conference committees where differences between the Senate and House versions of these bills will be hashed out. Once that work is done, each bill will come before the House for a final vote.
Health and Human Services
This week, the House approved both a human services and a health budget bill. Both bills reflected misplaced priorities.
It is extremely disappointing that Democrats refused to properly address the nursing home crisis that is impacting much of our state, especially communities in rural Minnesota.
Despite warnings from the nursing home industry, and even the Star Tribune, Democrats are dedicating only 0.03% of their $72 billion budget proposal to helping nursing homes and supporting seniors.
In the health bill, Democrats continue to push their extreme agenda by removing even more guardrails on abortion, spending your surplus on healthcare for undocumented immigrants, and forcing all taxpayers to fund more abortions.
You read that right, in the bill they remove nearly all of Minnesota’s commonsense, bipartisan pro-life laws that protect the health and safety of women, girls, and babies.
Most upsetting is the elimination of the Minnesota Born Alive Infant Protection Act that previously would require medical attention to be rendered to babies that survive an abortion. Repealing this law is wildly out of step with the priorities of the communities I represent and extremely disappointing.
Public Safety
On Wednesday, the Public Safety bill was approved. For many reasons, I voted “no” on this bill.
There is little doubt that there has been a dramatic uptick in violent crime across Minnesota. All of us can feel it, we see it on the news, and it is backed up by the data. Unfortunately, this bill does little to address the real, legitimate concerns of many.
For example, the bill makes thousands of incarcerated felons eligible for early release, reduces sentences for violent offenders, fails to invest in law enforcement, and provides more than a hundred million dollars to unproven and unaccountable non-profit organizations.
It also included two controversial gun control proposals that place additional burdens on law-abiding Minnesotans looking to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights and fail to uphold due process.
As a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment, this was yet another reason to vote “no” on the bill.
Tax Bill
Thursday saw the passage of the Tax bill. This bill, despite a record-breaking $17.5 billion surplus, raises taxes by $2.2 billion. This increase is among the nearly $10 billion in new taxes that Democrats are looking to raise across the entirety of their budget proposal.
Additionally, the bill does not fully repeal the state’s unfair tax on social security benefits. This is an issue that I’ve heard about from folks in our area. It makes no sense for Minnesota to continue to be one of only 11 states to tax these benefits.
Finally, the bill makes changes to electronic pull tabs which cause significant financial damage to local charities that depend on these games to fundraise. There is no reason to make this change and I am concerned about the impact it will have on charities in our communities.
Staying in Touch
As always, I encourage you to share any thoughts, questions, or concerns you may have. Please never hesitate to reach out to me whether it’s via phone or email. I can be reached at 651-296-4293 or via email at rep.mike.wiener@house.mn.gov. It would be an honor to speak with you.
Until next time, have a great weekend,
Mike