Here’s a shot of Rep. Mekeland and me working at the Capitol this session, along with all our fellow House Republicans.
Dear Neighbor,
House Republicans have had a rather busy week at the Capitol, working hard on behalf of the people we represent to address our state’s biggest challenges.
Here’s the latest from St. Paul:
March for Life rally
Thank you so much to everyone who showed up for the fantastic March for Life rally at the Capitol this week. It was nice to see such a great turnout for this worthy cause! I was happy to participate alongside House Speaker Lisa Demuth and fellow Rep. Tim O'Driscoll, both from our area.
 Anti-fraud bills House Republicans have introduced a series of bills to curb fraud, waste, and abuse in state programs – including three bills I’ve co-authored. The goal with these bills is to increase accountability and protect taxpayers at a time fraud and waste is rampant in Minnesota. Numerous reports have exposed how hundreds of millions of dollars are being lost to fraud and waste in Minnesota and we owe it to Minnesotans to do better. It’s time to tighten things up in our agencies. Minnesotans deserve accountability and transparency with their tax dollars, and that’s what House Republicans aim to deliver this session. The first three bills House Republicans drafted in response to this issue this session include: - House File 1: Establishes a centralized Office of the Inspector General to lead the fight against fraud across state programs. The bill consolidates agency-based inspector general offices into a unified entity, requires agencies to halt payments when fraud is suspected, and mandates the creation of a fraud reporting hotline. Additionally, it provides funding to ensure the new OIG has the resources to be effective.
- House File 2: Strengthens fraud prevention by mandating stricter reporting requirements for state agencies and equipping them with additional tools to identify and prevent fraudulent activities. This bill emphasizes transparency and swift action to address fraud concerns.
- House File 3: Establishes “fraud notes,” a groundbreaking tool to assess the susceptibility of proposed legislation to fraud. Similar to fiscal notes, fraud notes would provide lawmakers with an evaluation of potential fraud risks before enacting new programs or policies.
We expect each of the three bills will receive their first House Committee hearings in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. |
 Affordable Minnesota Historic inflation, irresponsible spending and unnecessary tax increases are stretching people thin. House Republicans also are focusing on legislation this session to help make Minnesota more affordable for families and businesses. For starters, we are working on repealing the things that hurt family budgets, such as the automatic gas tax increase, delivery taxes, social security taxes, and policies that are driving up the cost of energy. Bills we have introduced so far include: - House File 4: Proposes a constitutional amendment to make sure that substantial, future budget surpluses are returned to the taxpaying citizens of Minnesota.
- House File 5: Under complete Democrat control, and despite an $18 billion budget surplus, Democrats increased taxes on Minnesotans to the tune of $10 billion. House File 5 repeals many of the taxes that Democrats passed in 2023 including the automatic gas tax increase, the delivery tax and fully exempts social security from state income taxes. It also looks at options to reduce vehicle tab fees.
- House File 9: This bill rolls back some of the unnecessary and onerous mandates in our state, lifts Minnesota’s nuclear power moratorium, and expands the tax exemption on natural gas and electric derived residential heat to help save Minnesota families money.
Watch for more on these and other top priorities for House Republicans this session. We’re hard at work at the Capitol, so please stay in touch and let me know how I can help. Helpful House links Here are some links you may find helpful in following the latest goings on at the Capitol: |
Please Contact Me
It’s an honor and privilege to work for you at the Capitol. Don’t hesitate to contact my office at any time this session to share your thoughts, concerns or ideas. You can call me at 651-296-6316, or email me at rep.bernie.perryman@house.mn.gov. I am here to serve you!
Bernie
