 Friends and Neighbors, Committee work in the Minnesota House has been full steam ahead. Our goal is to hear bills, expose mandates and fiscal irresponsibilities. And as you know from previous updates, there are plenty of mandates, misplaced spending priorities, and fraud that we are investigating. We are finally getting our chance to talk about these problems and we are taking full advantage. We’re working to bring bills from committee to the House floor, and this week, a pair of bills I’m carrying received committee hearings. PUNISHMENT FOR HIGHWAY PROTESTORS The first institutes a penalty for protestors who choose to block highways. Protesting on highways and blocking traffic became popular in Minnesota during the late 2010s and was prevalent during the George Floyd riots where Interstate 94 and other popular Minneapolis highways were purposely blocked by protestors. Not only did this result in predictable traffic flow disruptions, emergency vehicles were prohibited from reaching their destination in a timely fashion. As part of this proposal, any person who intentionally obstructs a public highway, making it dangerous or impassable, is liable for damages suffered by an injured party, including reasonable attorney fees and costs. I will always support your right to peacefully protest, but if someone who is having a heart attack dies in the ambulance because protestors blocked the highway, there should be some repercussion. This is just common sense. REPEALING CALIFORNIA CAR MANDATES The second bill would help make the price of cars more affordable in Minnesota by eliminating the California cars mandate that was put into place through administrative rule-making by Governor Walz and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). Beginning this year, the mandate imposes California’s emission rules on all cars sold in Minnesota. This includes a zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) and low-emissions vehicle (LEV) standards – which requires automakers to provide more low and zero-emission vehicle options, such as electric vehicles. It’s going to raise new vehicle costs by at least $1,000. This is forcing auto dealers to carry more electric vehicles – whether there is public demand for them or not - and fewer vehicles that are popular in Minnesota, such as pickups and SUV’s. Plus, things are different here. We have problematic winters. Those Minnesotans who own electric vehicles suffer from “range anxiety,” where they’re unsure when their vehicle is going to run out of charge based on the conditions. The California Cars Mandate hurts auto manufacturers, increases costs to dealers and consumers, and limits choices for those looking to buy a new car, all in the name of climate change. It needs to go away. CLIMATE AGENDA The bigger issue is the real conversation about climate and, more specifically, the climate agenda. New information is coming forward, and whistleblowers from MIT, Harvard, Princeton, CalTech, UCLA, USC, Columbia, Green Peace, and a past Under Secretary for the Dept of Energy are having real conversations about climate change and sharing what they know. Documentaries on DEI and COVID have helped elevate the story on those topics and told how the original, and often preferred media narrative isn’t always 100% truthful. John Clauser, a 2022 winner of a Nobel Prize in Physics, is one of many whistleblowers in a 2024 documentary called “Climate: The Movie.” Clauser states, “there are not just billions of dollars, there are trillions of dollars at stake.” And when that kind of money is on the line, you know people are going to do and say whatever they can to protect it. If you haven’t seen it already, give “Climate: The Movie” a look. |