LEGISLATION HIGHLIGHTSWith the Democrat shutdown now behind us, we had our first full week of activity in the Minnesota House, and committee hearings are in full swing. Republicans are in control of the agenda right now. That means we get to decide what bills are being heard in our committees. This creates a great opportunity for us to promote important issues this week. You can follow along and watch these hearings online by clicking here. For example, there was a vote taken this week to remove the tax on Social Security, a priority that we know the majority of Minnesotans want to see happen. That ended with all Republicans voting for it and all Democrat members voting against it. ELECTIONS In the elections committee on which I serve, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon made a presentation and then abruptly left without taking questions, leaving his staff behind to answer them. In one case, we were simply asking about funding for the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and they couldn’t provide answers. I asked about election results data not arriving to the Secretary of State’s Office until January 14 - we were sworn into office January 14! – and there was no answer. I talk about election integrity a lot, and this is why: if Minnesota’s election system is so impeccably run, why is there so much secrecy and why can’t we get answers as to why rules aren’t followed? During this committee hearing, Secretary Simon said his goals for elections were “high turnout and low drama.” Yet last session, with his blessing, the Democrat party approved things like pop-up booths, voting at a college and voter eligibility without an address. These are not the types of actions that build trust in our elections and only makes more people question the validity of the results. I look forward to the day that those in charge of our elections care more about election integrity, transparency and accuracy versus “high turnout." FRAUD Our new fraud committee held its first hearing on Monday and focused on the lack of oversight of taxpayer-funded grants to state nonprofits. We learned there is no tracking mechanism for nonprofits, which is problematic considering $2.6 billion dollars in state revenue was distributed to approximately 2500 different nonprofits across 27 state agencies, and 25% of the nonprofits received grants from more than one state agency. For a sampling of the hearing, click here. EDUCATION FINANCE Speaking of fraud, the Minnesota Department of Education was on hand in the education finance committee to discuss the Feeding Our Future travesty that bilked state taxpayers out of $250 million, the biggest COVID-19 fraud scheme in our nation’s history. MSHSL I was proud to support all of our Minnesota girl athletes by signing onto this letter asking the Minnesota State High School league to protect girls who work hard to compete in high school athletics. Minnesota is one of only two states being federally investigated the Department of Education for not complying with President Trump’s executive order. Click here to learn more. LOCAL VISITORS It was a busy week at the Capitol with committees in full swing and meeting with constituents who made the trip to Saint Paul.  Goodhue County Sheriff Marty Kelly was here.  As were Wabasha representatives to discuss their Highway 60 road project.  Red Wing officials also visited. Thanks to everyone for stopping by! Happy Valentine’s Day! |