Dear Neighbor,
The Legislature is careening toward the end of the 2024 session with this session’s biggest bills on their way to the House floor, turmoil in the Senate and a May 20 deadline to adjourn.
Much of the session’s remaining work pertains to a series of omnibus finance bills the majority is proposing. But the state’s two-year budget already was set last year, so the half a billion dollars the Democrats want to spend after already increasing the state budget by 40 percent last year is completely unnecessary. More spending also is unwise, especially with the state already facing a budget deficit in the next biennium.
In other news:
Anti-Second Amendment bills
Three stand-alone anti-gun bills have made it through the committee process and are scheduled to be on the floor Monday for votes of the full House. H.F. 601 puts the onus on the victim of a crime to file a report to law enforcement within the government’s definition of reasonable time. H.F. 4300 improved during the committee process, but still places additional firearm storage burdens on law-abiding firearm owners. We need to take a harder line on the true bad actors who are breaking today’s laws instead of doing more to trip up good-faith citizens. I also have concerns over H.F. 2609, which includes an expanded definition of trigger activators and may impact some commonly used guns.
We’ll see how all this plays out, especially with new developments in the Senate. Democrats have a one-seat majority in that body but one of their members was charged with felony burglary this week. It would be beyond unacceptable for a senator facing felony burglary charges to be allowed to cast the deciding vote on legislation that undercuts a person’s ability to defend themself and their family during a home invasion.
Sanctuary state
I continue to monitor legislation that would make Minnesota a sanctuary state, something I covered in depth in my last newsletter. Under single-party control in St. Paul, Minnesota Democrats have given illegal immigrants free drivers licenses, free health care, and free college – all paid by Minnesota taxpayers. Now they want to make Minnesota a sanctuary state.
We need to restore balance at the Capitol so this does not happen.
Have a good weekend and please stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Ben