Dear Neighbor,
I have cited numerous examples of how the House Democrat majority is obliterating our First Amendment rights this session. That issue came to a head again on the House floor this week and the public is starting to become aware.
A rather poignant moment unfolded during debate of the Democrats omnibus judiciary/public safety bill (S.F. 2909). A measure in the bill creates a hate-incident registry where the state would establish a government database of perceived “hate incidents” that fall short of criminal acts. To be clear, we’re not talking about “hate crimes” because those already are tracked.
Instead, the bill gives our state the authority to collect data about crimes of bias that have not been reported to law enforcement – so there is no documentation that the event happened – but people still could be placed in a “hate incident” registry.
I asked the author of this underlying language in the bill how this would apply to some plausible real-life scenarios. For example, if a person were to express that COVID-19 is a Chinese bioweapon that leaked from a lab in Wuhan, and someone reports the author of that article to the state, could that land someone in this new registry? The author not only said this instance “clearly” could apply, but also confirmed the same might be true for a person wearing a shirt professing their love for JK Rowling.
This exchange blew up on social media and has attracted national attention. Here is a link to the exchange on the floor and here is a link to an appearance I made on Fox News this morning.
Other concerns in the bill include anti-Second Amendment language from two controversial gun control bills: H.F. 14 (universal gun registration) and H.F. 15 (red flag).
I support our law enforcement officers’ concerns about provisions that are unworkable and unrealistic to enforce on the streets. Instead of addressing the root causes of violent crime, this bill will create strict and impractical hurdles for law-abiding Minnesotans seeking to exercise their Second Amendment rights. Criminals looking to acquire firearms will not follow the complex new process laid out in the proposal and it will do nothing to stop the flow of firearms among criminals.
Click here for more discussion of this bill on the House floor, where I address how the Constitution and rule of law are foundational to our way of life – and how I was not able to support the DFL’s public safety and judiciary omnibus bill because, while it contains some good provisions, it has some poison pills that undercut our fundamental constitutional rights.
Nursing homes shorted funding
House Democrats approved a bill Tuesday which ignores a long-term care crisis in our state by severely underfunding this portion of the state budget.
The House Human Services Finance omnibus package (S.F. 2934) came to the floor accounting for just .01 percent of the Democrats’ $72 billion budget proposal that consumes the state’s $19 billion surplus and increases state General Fund spending by 40 percent.
It is a disgrace for House Democrats increase state spending by 40 percent and blow through the state’s $19 billion surplus, yet fail to support our most vulnerable citizens and the workers who care for them. The majority party is blatantly choosing to fund political paybacks to interest groups over Minnesotans most in need.
Meanwhile, Minnesota is in the midst of a “silver tsunami,” with more than 1.3 million state residents aged 65 or older. As these residents age, their need for care grows and it is unfortunate to see Minnesota is not keeping up with these needs. Some 2,597 nursing home beds have been taken out of service in Minnesota since 2020, the equivalent of shuttering 52, 50-bed homes. The long-term care industry in Minnesota currently is operating with a worker shortage of 53,000 and that, in the month of October alone, 11,000 elderly residents were turned away from nursing homes – largely due to lack of staff.
The inability to fully staff our nursing homes then places added strains on hospitals, with nearly 20 percent of their bed space taken up by people who could be better served recovering in nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
Minnesotans deserve better than what they are getting from this dangerous and extreme agenda House Democrats are pushing. There’s time for a conference committee to fix this bill before it comes back for a vote on final passage. Let’s hope Democrats will hear Minnesotans who just want the Legislature to do what’s right by supporting people in need of long-term care and the people who care for them.
Tax bill
We are wrapping up votes on the Democrats omnibus finance bills that, together, send state spending soaring and still raise taxes. The tax bill was among the last to come to the floor for a vote on preliminary passage and there are some provisions of major concern. House Republicans continue working to eliminate a measure I mentioned in my last newsletter that would end electronic pull tabs as we know them, dealing a severe blow to local charity organizations/non-profits.
Watch for more from the Capitol soon as we make our way through the final month of the session. As always, please stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Harry