Hello Friends!
This week in the Minnesota House was very productive.
We passed several of our major omnibus finance and policy bills.
These bills include, Agriculture, State Government, Environment, Health and Human Services, Taxes, Transportation, K-12 Education.
On Monday we plan to pass our remaining omnibus finance and policy bills and send them to the Governor.
Governor Dayton has said that he intends to veto EVERY bill, and he has already vetoed the five he has received so far.
This is unheard of. Your legislators are getting their work done early. We have tried, time and time again, to get Governor Dayton to negotiate with us - to no avail. He has dug in his heels and pulled out his veto pen.
Our plan is to keep trying to get him to negotiate with us; to keep our doors and lines of communication wide open.
We will take any and all vetoed bills and rework them –we will try to find some way to get the Governor to work for Minnesota. Our hope is to send reworked bills to him a second time BEFORE the final deadlines.
Our plan is not only to get our work done before the May 22nd deadline, but to get it done TWICE - if need be to pass a budget.
Stay tuned for more as the next week unfolds. We plan to punch-in on Monday May 15th and work nonstop until May 22nd.
Please contact Governor Dayton's Office and tell him to WORK WITH the legislature that was elected by YOU, the voters of Minnesota.
Governor Dayton’s Office: 651-201-3400
Another issue that has come up is the Department of Education planning to releases a "Gender Tool Kit" to schools in the near future. While I am told the suggestions in the “Toolkit” are not mandatory, it will strongly encourage our public schools to begin teaching our kids about Transgender issues and how kids may be able to choose their own gender identities.
REALLY?
Like many of you, my blood pressure went up went I heard this. I joined about 40+ of my fellow legislators and signed a letter of protest, which we sent to the Minnesota Department of Education. State resources should be used in more productive ways than confusing children with concepts like gender identity and fluidity.
There is a meeting next week with House Education committee members and Education Department officials to find out what EXACTLY is going on, and to determine the best course of action.
Also this week, we passed a bill I co-authored, which bans the practice of Female Genital Mutilation.
This bill makes it a felony for parents convicted of having this procedure done on their daughters, and will also make it possible to remove these victims from their homes and place them into protective custody. Previously only the “doctors” who perform these procedures could be charged with a felony.
This barbaric act is still practiced in many nations in the Middle East and Africa, and has been performed on hundreds of millions of little girls.
It has come to our attention that this horrific practice is occurring in Minnesota.
This MUST STOP. End of discussion.
It was an honor to be a co-author on this bill. I will vote a resounding “YES!” When it arrives on the House Floor next week.
Have a GREAT weekend, Happy Mother’ s Day, and good luck if you go fishing!
God's peace,
Jim