Dear Neighbor,
Hello from the House, where a projected budget shortfall for the next biennium and Democrat bills that infringe on our Second Amendment rights were among the headlines this week. Here is more:
State economic forecast
State officials issued a new economic forecast for Minnesota Thursday, with a looming $1.5 billion shortfall through 2027 overshadowing a $3.715 billion surplus for the current biennium.
The level to which Democrats pulled a bait-and-switch on Minnesota taxpayers is appalling. They told the public they support a quick tax bill fix, a full elimination of the tax on Social Security, and $2000 rebate checks for Minnesotans. But when they gained full control of the Capitol and had their chance to follow through, they broke their promises to Minnesotans and instead used the $17.5 billion surplus to raise government spending by a whopping 40 percent. They increased taxes by $10 billion along the way and left our state on the brink of a shortfall.
Minnesotans are saying enough is enough and will hold Democrats accountable for their total disregard of taxpayers. We need more balance to the Capitol.
Gun-control bills
The House committee on public safety on Thursday conducted hearings for a pair of anti-Second Amendment bills authored by Democrats.
The bills are H.F. 601 – Her, arbitrary deadline for reporting for lost and stolen firearms; and H.F. 4300 – Becker-Finn, regarding firearm storage. Both proposals seem to do more to criminalize good-faith, law-abiding gun owners than to crack down on the repeat criminals and other true bad actors our courts continue putting back on the street.
Rep. Her’s bill puts the onus on the victim of a crime to file a report to law enforcement within the government’s definition of reasonable time – 48 hours. If you are the victim of a firearm theft, and the perpetrator of that crime commits another crime with your stolen weapon, the bill stipulates that you may be held responsible.
Rep. Becker-Finn’s bill requires a person to either store a firearm not in the person’s direct control in a safe or unloaded with a locking device. On the same day the DFL introduced this bill that makes it a crime if a law-abiding firearm owner does not unload a firearm and secure it with a locking device in the person’s home, the DFL also introduced a bill (HF4277) that repeals mandatory minimum sentences for violent crimes involving the possession or use of a firearm.
The increased penalties come at a time where the actual perpetrators of violent crimes are increasingly released back out onto the street under laws passed by Democrats in 2023 … and even more so under bills they continue pushing today.
It is misguided to crack down on gun owners who honor our laws and act in good faith instead of going after the real criminals. I do not support that approach and will continue opposing these anti-Second Amendment bills.
Stay tuned for more from the House soon. For now, have a good weekend and let me know how I can help.
Sincerely,
Ben