Rep. Altendorf Legislative Update

WHAT'S NEW?

It’s always enjoyable to meet with residents in our district. This week I was able to meet with members of the Lake City VFW. Pictured are Lake City VFW Commander Tom Brown and member Jeremy Nelson.

One of the topics of discussion I had with these VFW members, and many others, centers on the Democrats’ proposal of eliminating electronic pull tabs as we know them. In 2022 alone they generated almost $2 billion in revenue. Electronic pull tabs have been a godsend for VFW’s, American Legions, and bars that offer them, and the local organizations and charities who receive charitable gambling proceeds from them.

Language in the House Democrat omnibus tax bill eliminates the “open all” feature that has been in use in electronic pull-tab games for years. They want players to “open one line at a time.” This change is expected to dramatically decrease the revenue from electronic pull tabs, and significantly reduce the amount of money that is collected and allocated to local charities and organizations.

The legislation did not travel through committee and did not follow the proper legislative process. Therefore, the public was not given a fair and adequate opportunity to testify and weigh in on this important matter. Republican House members were also not given the opportunity to work with Democrats to find any kind of compromise on this subject – such as significantly lowering the tax paid to the state to make up for the expected lost revenue. For these reasons, I voted against this plan and will not support this change.

The charitable revenue that is distributed locally thanks to electronic pull tabs is critically important to the organizations receiving it. It’s unfortunate that House Democrats are now putting unnecessary stress on area charities, youth organizations, veterans groups, and other businesses.

LEGISLATION HIGHLIGHTS

COSTLY EMPLOYEE LEAVE PROPOSAL APPROVED BY HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Another far-left plan that creates a mandatory, government-run paid leave program funded by tax increases on employers and employees has been approved in the Minnesota House. To watch my video on this proposal, click here.

The nearly $3 billion program will be paid for by a brand-new tax on employers and employees and it expands employers’ leave obligations to part-time and temporary workers. 

The House Democrat plan would require virtually all Minnesota employers to provide employees with up to 12 weeks of paid leave benefits for qualifying family care and up to 12 more weeks for qualifying medical reasons per year. If you own a Main Street business and have only one employee – this will impact you.

Along with the $3 billion tax increase, as many as 400 new full-time employees will need to be hired just to develop and administrate the statewide program.

As I’ve stated before, many businesses are already struggling to hire workers and stay open. This bill would devastate every Minnesota employer, including small businesses, farms, cities, counties, and school districts. Common sense tells us that implementation of this paid leave mandate on even our smallest employers will ultimately cause a number of businesses to close. 

Companies can offer 12 weeks of paid leave on their own if they see the benefit of providing it to attract and retain the workforce they need. Another extreme – and expensive – government mandate forced upon them is going to be troublesome and problematic.

The bill now heads to the Minnesota Senate.

WATCH YOUR WORDS! THOUGHT POLICE MAY SOON MONITOR WHAT YOU SAY AND WRITE

What would you think if I told you state government may be about to create a division of ‘thought police,’ which would monitor things people say or write that are not criminal or violent in any way, but might offend someone who could then claim you were speaking with bias?

This radical, far-left attempt to muzzle your First Amendment right to speak freely has actually been approved by Minnesota House Democrats as a provision in its judiciary/public safety bill.

The bill would allow the Minnesota Department of Human Rights to send employees into communities to solicit “bias incidences” and collect data on individual speech that is not criminal but believed by someone to be biased and concerning.

Specifically, it forms policies to solicit, receive and compile reports from community organizations, school districts and individuals regarding incidents a community member believes are motivated by bias. That data will be stored and analyzed and could be sought after by the state – an actual government bias registry.

So, if someone is offended by something you said or wrote and believed it was biased, they could then report you to a state agency which could then keep that file on record.

So what kind of talk could get you in trouble?

On the House floor, a question was asked of the bill author if a written article claiming or arguing that COVID-19 is a Chinese bio-weapon that leaked from a lab in Wuhan should be put in the bias registry. The answer was it can be considered a hate or bias incident.

The bill author was then asked if someone wearing an “I love J.K. Rowling” shirt could also be put on the bias registry, and she stated that circumstance would be something for lawyers to decide.

To view the discussion, click here and begin watching at 1:28:20. The New York Post also has an article which you can read here. I have yet to see this news covered by any local TV station or newspaper.

Any way you cut it, this provision is designed to make you scared to speak freely, to think twice about writing a letter to the editor because you disagree with something, to hesitate before hitting the post button on Facebook, to walk away instead of having a potentially uncomfortable conversation with someone. Remember, none of this has anything to do with speech that was made in relation to a hate crime or violent activity. If it was, your antics would be reported to the police.

Because this assault on your First Amendment liberties was included in an omnibus judiciary/public safety bill, it will head to a joint House/Senate conference committee where 5 representatives and 5 senators will decide whether it should stay or go. Let’s hope in the end common sense prevails, but I won’t be holding my breath.

I appreciate the Republican team and Rep. Harry Niska for all they did to expose this legislation that the Democrats were trying to slide through.  You really need to see this interview with Fox News to believe what is happening in Minnesota. Please share this information.  An informed public is their worst enemy!

To view the Fox News interview, click here, and to view his interview with Fox and Friends Weekend, click here.

Thank you for the prayers for our State and our Country! God bless!