Dear Neighbor,
With the House now fully organized, Republicans got right after it this week by introducing priority bills and moving them through the first steps of the legislative process.
Here is a look at the latest from the Capitol:
Return surplus $ to taxpayers
People elected me, in part, to be a watchdog on state spending and protect the taxpayers. Now, I’m in St. Paul and seeing it firsthand: The amount of wasteful spending in our state is out of this world and we need to get a handle on it.
The $18 billion surplus in the last biennium should have been used to help people manage the poor economy and deliver relief for overtaxed Minnesotans. Instead, Twin Cities liberals used it to expand government programs and create new ones, resulting in a 40-percent increase in the state budget with an unnecessary $10 billion tax increase on top.
That can’t ever happen again and I’m co-authoring legislation (H.F. 4) to make sure it doesn’t. The bill proposes a constitutional amendment guaranteeing future state budget surpluses are returned directly to Minnesotans. It establishes the Minnesota tax relief account, with the legislature appropriating funds each biennium into this fund to return excess tax collections back to taxpayers via refunds. Any projected revenues that go over 5 percent of projected expenditures according to the last biennial budget forecast will be used to fund the account.
If the state collects too much from taxpayers, that’s not a license for the government to go on a spending spree like the one Twin Cities liberals led two years ago. Those over-collected dollars should go back to the taxpayers and this bill helps that happen, protecting taxpayers from future overreach and ensuring financial accountability in state government.
House Republicans are working to bring common sense back to the Capitol to help make our state a better place to live, work and go to school.
Ag economy hits area workers
I was disappointed to hear the Case-New Holland plant in Benson is laying off a significant portion of its workforce, with 123 employees reportedly set to be displaced this April due to a downturn in the ag economy. While Benson is not officially in the district I represent, this loss of jobs will undoubtedly impact people throughout our region. This turn of events shows how vulnerable our economy is these days and I hope we have a quick turnaround. We need to do more at the Capitol to make Minnesota more affordable, which is a top priority of mine in the House.
Meeting with farm folks
Enjoyed recent meetings with Farmers Union (above) and Farm Bureau (below) members in St. Paul.
Keeping men out of women’s sports
President Trump recently issued an executive order entitled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” and House Republicans share his position on upholding fairness and safety for females.
I am among House Republicans authoring H.F. 12, which says: “Only students of the female sex may participate in an elementary or secondary school athletic team or sport that an educational institution has restricted on the basis of sex to women or girls.”
Along the way, the Minnesota State High School League stated it intends to not to comply with President Trump’s recent executive order prohibiting men from playing women’s sports. House Republicans this week sent letter sent to the MSHSL director expressing concern over the organization’s position. You can read the letter here.
Thank you to Olivia City Administrator Elizabeth Torkelson for taking the time to meet with Sen. Lang and me in St. Paul.
Tackling fraud
The newly formed House Fraud and Agency Oversight Committee had its first official hearing this week to tackle fraud, waste and abuse in state programs. The committee’s first meeting focused on the lack of oversight of taxpayer-funded grants to nonprofit organizations.
In addition, this week House Republican leaders sent a formal request to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch a comprehensive investigation into fraud and mismanagement that has cost taxpayers over $610 million.
The request follows years of documented mismanagement and significant losses to fraudsters in human services programs and other state-run programs. Despite numerous reports detailing oversight failures, legislative Democrats have refused to hold a single hearing on the issue in six years.
This is not a partisan issue, but rather a taxpayer protection issue, and it’s a fundamental duty of the legislature to oversee the executive branch’s agencies in our system of checks and balances. It’s good to see this committee is digging into this issue and I look forward to making improvements.
Watch for more from the House soon. Until next time, have a great weekend and please let me know how I can help.
Sincerely,
Scott