Dear Neighbor,
House Democrats continue passing bills which take money from Minnesotans of all income levels and waste it on highly questionable projects.
This week’s top example is an energy bill. Democrats passed a proposal which subsidizes consumers who want to install solar panels. Hardworking Minnesota homeowners and apartment dwellers of all income levels would be subsidizing those who can afford solar, primarily high-earners.
The bill requires a 40-percent renewable energy standard by 2030 for investor-owned utility companies. This includes a 4-percent solar mandate, with a goal of 10-percent.
This bill is bad for the taxpayers of Minnesota. Solar power is unreliable and can’t compete without those subsidies that would be paid by even low-income earners. Republicans offered a number of amendments to make improvements in these areas, but Democrats blocked them. They essentially admitted this is bad for energy consumers by shielding companies on the Iron Range from rate hikes caused by solar mandates.
Democrats also passed a bill to redefine marriage in Minnesota. I support traditional marriage and voted against this proposal. A recent Star Tribune survey shows only 38 percent of Minnesotans support redefining marriage.
From the last election, we saw this is an issue that divides Minnesota. This is another instance of Democrats overreaching and potentially jeopardizing religious liberty. With the clock running down on this session, we should be focused on issues that unite us like growing jobs and balancing the budget.
A little more than one week remains before we are scheduled to adjourn and Democrats have yet to bring forward any of the budget bills for final approval. In fact, some of the conference committees that must resolve differences between House and Senate versions of budget bills have yet to meet. Higher education is one example.
It still looks like they are on completely different pages. Disagreements remain over which taxes they want to raise in order to waste billions more in taxpayer dollars.
All the while, the governor seems to be mesmerized by Vikings-related issues. It’s so bad he even addressed the media about the team’s choice in punters this week. Oh, and not to mention the governor announced he has a “secret fix” to pay for debt service on the bonds to build the stadium since e-pulltabs are failing so miserably.
I’ll keep you updated as we inch toward our May 20 adjournment date.
Sincerely,
Tom