Dear Neighbor,
Hello from the House, where we are wrapping up the third week of the 2025 session. House Republicans continue working on the issues Minnesotans care about most, despite the continuing House Democrat legislative shutdown.
Here’s the latest from St. Paul:
Public safety plan
House Republicans this week unveiled a comprehensive legislative proposal aimed at making Minnesota safer for all residents. The plan includes13 targeted provisions designed to equip law enforcement with the tools they need, ensure violent offenders are held accountable, and increase transparency in the criminal justice system.
 The hope is this approach will help get our state out of the soft-on-crime policies that have tied the hands of law enforcement, emboldened criminals, and made our communities less safe in recent years. We simply need to hold criminals accountable, especially violent offenders. Key provisions House Republicans propose include: - Mandatory minimum 10-year sentences for predators engaged in first-degree sex trafficking.
- Predatory offender registration required for offenders engaged in criminal sexual conduct who receive a stayed sentence from the courts.
- New and enhanced criminal offenses including blocking a freeway, highway, transit, or the road to and from the airport.
- Increased penalty for fleeing a police officer in a reckless manner.
- Increased penalties for individuals who conspire to trespass on or damage critical infrastructure such as pipelines, utility lines, and water lines.
- Increased penalties for assaulting a peace officer from a gross misdemeanor to a felony.
- Providing better access to the public on prosecutors’ charging and dismissal decisions, and court sentencing departures.
In addition to new tools for law enforcement and increased penalties for criminal conduct, the bill provides additional transparency to the practices of some criminal justice organizations that far too often provide a revolving door that puts criminals back onto the street without any public scrutiny. More news on fraud |
 I mentioned in my last newsletter that House Republicans are working hard to root out fraud that is running rampant in Minnesota’s state programs. There is another development to report on this subject, with a KSTP report unveiling disturbing revelations regarding the state Child Care Assistance Program. KSTP revealed some of the top recipients of CCAP funds were cited for dozens of licensing violations while receiving millions in state funds, including one that had their conditional license status lifted in 2024. The investigation also raised concerns that some of the state's largest CCAP recipients may be fraudulent, with no evidence of children or employees present during repeated visits despite receiving millions of dollars in CCAP funds for children purportedly currently enrolled in the program. House Republicans are working on a series of measures to tighten controls and enhance accountability in CCAP. Watch for more as things develop. Until next time, please stay in touch and let me know how I can help. Also, I encourage you to tune in to KWLM 1340AM at 11 a.m. on Saturdays when Rep. Dave Baker, Sen. Andrew Lang and I join J.P. Cola for our weekly legislative roundup show (click here for the show page). It’s a great way to stay in the loop on issues impacting people in our area and throughout Minnesota. Sincerely, Scott |