Dear Neighbors,
Here is the latest news from the Capitol!
Budget Negotiations
With budget negotiations ongoing and no targets for omnibus bills so far, things have been fairly quiet at the Capitol this week. The DFL has so far refused to compromise even a penny from their $12 billion in tax increases, even though many of them are incredible unpopular. I’ve heard from many of you in opposition to these taxes, and I will continue to fight against these unnecessary tax hikes.
We just received news that General Fund revenue was $489 million higher than forecasted. That, with our higher than forecasted revenue from February and March, brings our revenue from this period to $573 higher than forecasted. With numbers like these, there is no reason to be raising taxes, especially by the unbelievable amount proposed by Democrats.
House File 90
Today we debated a DFL bill, HF90, which tries to prevent abuse of vulnerable adults and increases fees on our local assisted living facilities by an undisclosed amount. When asked, the bill author said the interest groups would decide the amounts. Republicans attempted to amend the bill to include actual dollar amounts in the bill, based on estimates provided by the DFL, but the DFL blocked our attempts to bring some transparency to this process. No bill should pass the House floor with blank appropriations. To force a bill through with such a shameful lack of transparency to allow unelected interest groups to fill in the blanks is a disgrace.
There are some good things in this bill, but there are too many problems for the bill in its current form. Because of an amendment posted the day before the bill came up on the House floor, most of the language in the bill was new. Because the language was only public for a day, very few of the care facilities in rural Minnesota had an opportunity to read the bill.
We all agree that improving care for vulnerable adults is a serious issue that needs to be dealt with, but this bill is not the solution. I pointed this out on the House floor in my comments on the bill, and I voted no. I look forward to working with both sides to find a solution that will not put significant strain on our rural facilities. We need to take care of our vulnerable adults and address the financial impact this will have on our care facilities.
High School Page Program
I was able to spend some time with our High School Pages this week, and I had a great time hearing from them about their time as pages. The High School Page Program is a great program for juniors across the state to meet with legislators, hold mock committee hearings, and experience the legislative process firsthand.
Happy Mother’s Day!
I want to take a moment to recognize all the mothers in our area. This Sunday is Mother’s Day, and I hope every mother is celebrated by family and loved ones. I plan to spend quality time with my family, and I hope you all have a chance to do the same.
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My door is always open to the needs and priorities of our area. Please feel free to let me know if I can be of assistance to you and your family. I am here to serve you!
Dan