Legislative UpdateDear friends and neighbors, This week has continued like the ones before it. I’ve been showing up to the Capitol along with my Republican colleagues, to serve the people of Minnesota. Here’s the long and short of what’s been happening: Democrats in the House are still not coming to work because they want to wait for their special election to happen sometime in March – anticipating the House will be tied again 67-to-67. Here's the problem: every day they don’t come in and work with us, is another day gone to pass bills, fix some of the problems of the past few years, and strike up a budget that doesn’t put us in the hole $5 Billion (which is where we’re headed without necessary changes). The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that there needs to be 68 Representatives present in order to actually “start” the legislature. Right now, we stand at 67 and Democrats stand at 66. We’re in a legislative “shutdown” so to speak until Democrats decide to come back to the table. Still, I’m down at the Capitol every day – hearing from constituents and local leaders to help shape policy in Minnesota. All House Republicans are. House Updates There’s a lot of important work still being done right now at the Capitol. Republicans are outlining their priorities this session – and I’m excited to be a voice for our community when outlining those priorities. We held a press conference outlining the need to bolster our public safety and empower our law enforcement officers with the tools they need to succeed. We also rolled out our initiative to create a fraud prevention committee. Minnesota unfortunately has a fraud problem, where public programs are being abused to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars over the past few years. A huge initiative in the House is to create better oversight on those departments and identify potential fraud before it spirals out of control – as it did with the Feeding our Future scandal. Monday was Township Day here at the capitol and I met with Wayne Houle, who is the Chisago Lake Township Supervisor. It was great getting to meet with him and learn more about the needs of Chisago Lake Township. |