Testifying before the Subcommittee on Workplace Safety & Respect about legislation I am co-authoring that will address sexual harassment at the Capitol.
Dear Neighbor,
Here is an update from the Capitol.
Forecast
The February economic forecast was released on February 28 showing our state has a $329 million surplus. That’s a more than $500 million turnaround since November, and shows that our economy is strong thanks in large part to meaningful tax relief passed at both the state and federal level.
I will continue to champion policies at the House that limit government growth, strengthen our economy and ensure hardworking Wright County taxpayers can keep more of their hard earned money.
MNLARS Update
For those following the debacle surrounding MNLARS, some new legislation was introduced in the House recently. The Dayton Administration has requested $43 million to fix our broken licensing and registration system, including $10 million immediately. That is on top of the nearly $100 million taxpayers have already spent on a system that doesn’t work.
The bill introduced in the House would require Governor Dayton to find that first $10 million from within the executive branch from already allocated funding. I think this is a responsible solution that protects taxpayers and shows the Dayton Administration is owning responsibility for this mess and willing to help clean it up.
Republicans will not give a blank check for MNLARS, especially as the governor’s office has yet to provide a full accounting of how this money they need so desperately will be spent. We must do our due diligence for the taxpayers and citizens of our state.
I will keep you updated as we continue to address this issue over the coming weeks.
Gun Bill Hearings
Recently, the Public Safety Committee on which I serve were forced to hear two Democrat gun control bills. The bills were given a hearing under a rarely used House Rule put forward by the bill’s author. Both citizens in support and opposed to the bills came forward to testify.
The first bill would allow family, law enforcement or others to petition the court and prohibit a person from possessing a firearm under a Gun Violence Protective Order. I raised serious concerns about this bill during the hearing including the location in statute this bill is drafted to and the lack of due process rights for those accused. I think as written the bill would have made it very difficult for responsible gun owners to have their constitutional rights reinstated.
The second bill heard would have expanded background checks for private party gun transfers. I have concerns here about the gathering of data on law-abiding citizens and gun owners, and am opposed to the measure in its current form.
I support commonsense reforms, but both these gun control bills heard in the Public Safety Committee last week led to more problems than solutions and were tabled by the committee.
I think regardless of what side of the debate you fall on regarding guns and the Second Amendment, we all share the same goals of curbing violence and protecting our students and schools. There are efforts in the House to find solutions including more mental health initiatives and funding safety improvements for our local schools. One such proposal that moved forward last week in the Education Finance Committee would expand long term facilities maintenance revenue to allow schools to make safety upgrades. This funding, which includes state dollars, gives school districts the local control to make security upgrades that best meet their needs instead of being mandated by the state.
Discussions with school leaders, parents, law enforcement and interested citizens has been valuable this session and we work to improve student safety, curb gun violence and find solutions that make a real difference. Please know I welcome your thoughts on the matter, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office.
Sexual Assault Examination Kit Legislation
Last week, my legislation to standardize the handling of sexual assault examination kits was passed in the Public Safety Committee and is headed to the Civil Law Committee. The legislation is prospective, and will make sure we don’t end up in the same situation again where the state is left with 3400 untested kits.
My bill makes a number of common sense changes that allow the victim to be able to track their kit and implements best practices for time-frames for handling and kit testing.
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As always, if you need assistance on an issue pertaining to state government or have concerns or ideas about legislation, my office is available to you. You can e-mail at Rep.Marion.ONeill@House.MN or call my office at 651-296-5063. You can also write a letter to me. My office address at the Capitol is 549 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55155.
Sincerely,
Marion